Cliche
by N-AngelFire
Summary: My life is screwed. First the reality TV style choice between two rich heartthrobs, then my accidentally, okay maybe purposefully kissing Sasuke, and now me hurting everyone I love. Hannah Montana makes living a double life look so easy. AU.
1. Two stoics and a tomboy

New story! YESSS!!! I hope this one doesn't burn –shrinks in the corner- 

**SasuTenNeji. AU fic. Mostly Tenten's point of view.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Only this storyline which I came up with while cooking dinner. POWER TO THE CHEFS!**

**-**

**-**

I yawned loudly as I woke up two minutes before my alarm clock. It's a strange thing but I've challenged my body to wake up ahead of time. Turning the alarm off I jumped out of bed and prepared for another day of high school.

"Tenten! Honey are you awake?" I heard my mom yell from downstairs. I rolled my eyes.

"No I'm still sleeping!"

"Tenten…" I could almost see my Mom's frown. She's always disapproved of me. When I was born, she was hoping for a bouncy beautiful baby girl who she could dress up and teach to be a lady. Instead she got me, Tenten the tomboy.

Every time we argue about that, she always says, "Look at Tohru," while pointing to an image of the famous model "she's the very image of a beautiful female. If you dressed up more, I'm sure you'd be just as beautiful as she."

Which is funny, because I am Tohru. It's a long story, but in short I'm a famous model and nobody knows my true identity besides me and my manager Anko. I only became a model because of my family's increasing financial problems. I entered a modeling contest under the fake name Tohru and won. I received a special deal and am sponsored by a hair products company. Now I'm able to help support my family under the guise of working at McDonald's.

I quickly pulled on my faded jeans and black t-shirt with red lettering saying 'Bite me'. I combed my long brown hair out and rolled it up, placing a bun on either side of my head. My bangs (my only 'ladylike feature' according to mom) flopped wherever. Not giving myself a second look I grabbed my book bag and ran downstairs.

"Tenten!" I stopped at the door.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" My mother asked with a worried look in her eyes. I glanced towards our table where my Dad sat eating a bowl of cereal and reading a local newspaper.

"No."

"Why not?"

I sighed, "I just don't feel like it. Here," I grabbed an energy bar off the counter "I'll eat this on the way. I have to go. Later."

"But-" I slammed the door shut before she could protest any further. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't like my Mom. It's just that we don't get along. She's the very picture of lady-likeness. She has her beautiful light brown hair neatly curled and pulled into a ponytail; she always wears a feminine color, and wears light makeup. She's an attractive woman in her own way. I believe that she's where I get my looks from.

Ever since I was little I loathed dresses and girly stuff. I think that's when she knew that we would never be that close. I always hung out with my male cousins and my Dad. I learned to fix cars, skateboard, and all other guy stuff from Dad. He's the only one who doesn't disapprove of me. He says that I'm the son he never had.

I ran down the sidewalk towards the school which is only a mile walk away from my house. Once it came in sight I looked around for my friends in the sea of bodies. Several lip-gloss girls applied makeup and giggled, Goth guys hung out in a group, preppies practiced cheer routines, etc.

I hate stereotypes but those are the only words to describe these people. Shouldering my bag, I marched past a troop of cheerleaders who instantly began whispering and giggling as I walked past. They enjoy tormenting the only non-sport playing, plain looking, and uninteresting girl at school. I ignored them and marched over towards my group. If only they knew.

"Hey over here!" I glanced up to see Inuzuka Kiba jumping up and down and waving madly. The red stripes tattooed on his cheeks stood out as he gave a dog-like grin. Beside him stood a bored looking Nara Shikamaru and his girlfriend my best friend Sabaku Temari. I smiled before jogging over.

"Stop waving loser!" I shoved Kiba playfully before taking my place leaning against the wall beside Temari.

"Aww… Tenten that hurt!"

"It was supposed to, fool!"

"Hey Tenten, you look pretty sleepy. What's up?" Temari asked, tilting her head to the side in a puppy-like quizzical fashion.

I smiled at her "McDonalds got me down."

The only reason why I never told anyone my secret was because of one stupid fault of mine. Pride. I could never admit to my mother that I dress up and expose myself to the world for money. I knew that Temari wouldn't care, but I wanted to keep my tomboy attitude. That was the only thing that's real about my life.

"Troublesome." That was Shikamaru sighing loudly. He thinks everything is troublesome. I think he would sleep for all eternity if possible.

Before I could say something smart to old lazy boy I heard faint squealing and sighed. I shut my eyes automatically. It was the same thing every day. I'm grateful that my group is the only one that doesn't act so stupidly.

"AAHHHH!!!"

I glared at Temari who joined in the screaming in waving.

"What?" she asked while grinning, "You have to admit they are hot."

For a second there I saw something other than boredom in Shikamaru's chocolate brown eyes.

I rolled my eyes as the limousines pulled up. Faculty members held back mobs of screaming fan girls and fan boys? I raised an eyebrow at the screaming boys. That's just weird.

The doors opened and the screams increased. Those were the same kind of screams that I get when I walk down the red carpet. Out stepped the two heartthrobs of the school. Uchiha Sasuke, heir to the Uchiha corp., one of the most powerful industries in Japan. And Hyuga Neji, heir to Hyuga corp. Same thing as the first.

There has been a long rivalry between the two companies for years. The Uchiha and Hyuga are constantly fighting over control of Japan. Personally I don't give a flying monkey. Just as long as they stay out of my way.

The two rich pretty boys hate each other. The only reason why they arrive at the same time is because they're both trying to be earlier than the other. It's stupid because in the end they arrive at the same time like twin morons.

Temari was now jumping on my back for a better view of the two heartthrobs. I growled and threw her off me.

"Oh my god!" she squealed, "Neji is just so hot!"

My gaze automatically fixated on the boy. He has long brown hair and mysterious gray eyes making him an instant heartthrob. Uchiha Sasuke on the other hand has short spiky black hair and serious onyx eyes.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her arm. "C'mon guys, let's go."

-

-

I plugged my ears as Temari babbled on. "-and his hair! Oh my god! I could just run my hands through his hair! Did you see what Sasuke was wearing? Wasn't he-"

Shikamaru sighed angrily. We were in homeroom. He was seated to the left of her while I was on her other side right behind Kiba. Kiba and I shared a quick glance and I nodded. I quickly turned to Temari and slapped her face.

She blinked in surprise. Her dark green eyes slowly started to clear. "Thanks guys, I needed that."

"No problem."

We heard some excessive giggling. "Here they come." We said in unison. The door to our classroom and in stepped Uchiha Sasuke and his posse of fan girls.

"Sasuke-kun!" one crooned "You are just soooo funny!"

The others erupted into giggles. "Ewww look at them," I said loud enough for them to hear "I think I'm going to vomit."

I was immediately death glared by fifteen fan girls and one Uchiha. My desk erupted into flames. Temari and I quickly put the fire out.

The group seated themselves in the middle just one row in front of me. I glared at the back of their heads before leaning back in my desk and pulling out a piece of gum. I chewed as loudly as I could, earning glares from every student around me.

Our teacher is always late so I can do whatever I want. I chewed even louder and added some sound effects.

The door swung open revealing our always late teacher Kakashi-sensei. "Good morning class!" he smiled from behind his mask. I always stare at him. Who else has gravity defying hair and a cool mask?

"You're late!" Naruto, a loudmouth troublemaker yelled while pointing an accusing figure at the teacher.

"Oh well, you see…" I groaned as he started another extravagant excuse. "A little boy fell down a man-hole so I had to save him and then I-"

"LIAR!"

He grinned behind his mask and opened his desk. "Start your lessons guys, you know what to do. I'll just do a little studying of my own."

He whipped out a pornographic novel by the name of 'Icha Icha paradise' I felt myself grow sick. What kind of teacher does that?

A bad one, that's what.

-

-

After my next few pointless classes a jammed locker held me up, so I was the last person in the hall on the way to Science. Grumbling curses, I stomped angrily towards my class. I turned a corner and nearly ran into someone.

"Watch it clown!" I snapped furiously. I tried moving around them but they blocked my way. I glared upwards and almost gasped. I was staring right into the gray eyes of Hyuga Neji.

He glared down at me. "What did you call me?" he seethed.

I raised an eyebrow in challenge. "I called you a clown! Now move before I kill you and feed you to the hyenas!"

"Hyenas?" he began coughing which started to sound suspiciously like a laugh.

"Yeah!" I stomped my foot, letting him know that I was serious. "I feel bad for those hyenas though. Imagine the stomachache they'll have after eating you!"

I don't know why I said all that. I think it's because he was laughing at my catch line.

He stopped coughing, laughing, whatever to glare at me once more. "Who do you think you are?"

"Tenten, that's who! Now back off!" I shoved him roughly sending him stumbling a few feet back. He looked at me in surprise as I stormed off.

-

-

(normal point of view)

"Tenten huh?" Neji smirked to himself "What an interesting girl."

-

-

I practically bulldozed the door to my science class. "I AM NOT LATE!"

Yuhi Kurenai, along with the other students looked at me as though I were crazy. I guess I kinda was. Chuckling nervously I shuffled over towards my desk and tripped.

"Tenten?" Kurenai-sensei asked slowly "Do you care to tell me why you're so late?"

"Geez didn't you just hear me?" I grumbled.

She narrowed her red eyes at me but said nothing more. "This year you will be assigned partners who will last the entire school year with you. You two will share everything and work together as one. Understand? Now when I begin calling your names I will-"

She was cut off as the door opened revealing Hyuga Neji, the very jerk I didn't want to see. Kurenai-sensei smiled at him as he took a seat in front of me. I stuck my tongue out at his head before turning back to Kurenai-sensei.

"Now as I was saying, when I call your names you will partnered with whoever I say so. Understood!" We all nodded except for Neji the jerk, who came in a moment too late. A fan girl eagerly leaned forward and explained the situation to him. He merely nodded. I grunted in disgust.

"Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke!" I saw Naruto and Sasuke both flinch. They both looked across the way at each other and glared. Several fan girls groaned in disappointment.

"Haruno Sakura and Sabaku Temari!" Temari who sat in the second row slammed her forehead against her desk. Sakura repeated the same action.

"Sabaku Gaara and Hyuga Hinata!" I turned to see Gaara give his usual indifferent look while Hinata looked wistfully towards Naruto before moving to sit with Gaara. I felt bad for her Gaara can be pretty intimidating. One time I played a prank on him and made an exploding birthday cake. Gaara wasn't impressed he nearly killed me.

She called several other names and I nibbled on the end of my pencil. I noticed that only four people were left. Neji, myself, and two random girls. I prayed to Kami-sama that he would spare me and just team me up with one of the girls.

I glanced over to them. They both made disgusted faces at me. Scratch that. I prayed to Kami-sama that he would strike them all with lightning.

"Hyuga Neji and-" the two girls leaned forward eagerly. They were practically drooling on their desks. Ewww.

"Tenten." I slammed my forehead against the desk. This could not be happening.

The two girls instantly began complaining. I raised a hand "Can I just switch partners?" 

"Me too!" Sasuke called out.

I looked at him; he smirked at me before turning back to Kurenai Sensei. She sighed and rubbed her temples "Who would you rather be teamed with?" she asked tiredly.

"Tenten." He said simply. My jaw dropped.

"Crazy person say what?!?" I shrieked along with all the other girls in class.

I quickly regained my imaginary composure and raised my hand "Can I be teamed with Naruto?"

Naruto gazed at me quizzically "Who are you? Are you new this year?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and faced Kurenai-sensei. She mumbled something about needing a break. "Tenten, you wanted to change partners and so did Sasuke. You two are lab partners now. Neji, you're with Naruto."

I slapped my forehead. I know this sounds weird, but for a moment there I think I saw Neji glare at Sasuke. Sasuke just smirked as he swaggered over to my desk. I faced forward, refusing to make eye contact with the pretty boy heartthrob.

"Hey." He gave me another smirk as he caught my attention.

I glared at him "If you try talking to me I'll kill you and feed you to the vampires!"

He did the strangest thing in the world. He threw back his head and laughed. It wasn't a chuckle, but a real gut wrenching laugh. The whole class turned to look at us. I felt myself shrink inside my seat as I received various death glares. My desk caught on fire again. "Not again!"

Sasuke eventually stopped laughing. He leaned towards me; his dark bangs covering his eyes. "You're amusing."

"What's so amusing?" I demanded.

He said nothing but smirked. I tilted my head to the side in confusion but said nothing more. This was going to be one seriously messed up school year.

-

-

"I can't believe you made Sasuke-kun laugh!" Temari exclaimed during lunch break. I glared at Shikamaru; it was all his fault for giving her a piece of chocolate. Now she was all hyperactive.

Kiba nodded in agreement with Temari. "Yeah, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you're making quite the impression around school!" he motioned towards a group of girls who death glared me. Before I could stop it my napkin caught on fire. "Darn it!"

Temari giggled "Yeah," she began laughing uncontrollably. I sighed and looked pointedly at Shikamaru who poked her shoulder.

More laughing.

More poking.

Even more laughing.

I grabbed my cup of water and splashed it on her. "Thanks," she panted, "I needed that."

I rolled my eyes before grabbing my lunch tray to dump it. "I gotta go, see ya later!" I waved to the group.

"Hey!" Shikamaru called out "Are you coming over for the movie?"

"Nah, my Mom wants me for some 'top secret family meeting'" I said offhandedly "Sorry guys. Maybe next time."

"It's alright," Kiba yelled over the noise of the cafeteria "I heard it was a cheesy movie anyway!"

Temari clubbed Kiba over the head with her notebook. "I happen to like it!"

He rubbed his sore head and grinned wolfishly at me. I laughed and dumped my food before marching out of there. I wanted to beat the after lunch rush. I just knew that the fan girls'd murder me if I didn't avoid them.

-

-

When I got home I found my Mom seated besides my Dad on the couch. Mom was rubbing her hands together and cackling while Dad was rubbing his head. They both motioned for me to sit down.

"What's up?" I slouched on the couch (that rhymed!) making my Mom frown and my Dad grin.

"Tenten…" my father began "You know I didn't want to go through with this."

"Go through with what?"

My mother hit father on the shoulder. "Hush dear!" she said warningly. I began to grow suspicious.

"What is it?!?" I demanded, jumping up dramatically like they do in movies.

"Do you remember the property that Grandfather gave to us before he died?" Mother asked slowly. I nodded; it was a large lot of land. It was almost 250 acres of open land that made the stretch between Uchiha Industry and Hyuga corp. That land was the most valuable piece of property in the city.

"Well, we received offers from both Uchiha and Hyuga corp. for the land. They offered us a nice sum but unfortunately we knew that that wouldn't suffice."

I nodded slowly. What did this have to do with me? I didn't care even though the land was great for bike rides.

"So we made an offer… if they would marry our daughter to their heir, we would accept their offer."

I nodded slowly. What did this- "WHAT?!?"

Both mom and Dad covered their ears. "You heard me," Mom said once I was through screaming. "They accepted. You are to marry."

"Marry who?" I groaned between my fingers. Everything was going to hell.

Father spoke up "This is where I intervened. I said we'd give the land to the family of whichever heir our daughter chooses. You have one year to pick your heir otherwise we'll sell and you to the highest bidder. Both families agree, they say their son's need a decent wife."

I gritted my teeth to hold back my anger. It didn't work. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?!" I held Dad by the throat "SELLING YOUR DAUGHTER LIKE THAT! WHAT KIND OF SICKO ARE YOU???"

It took mom, Dad and the housekeeper to pry my hands off his stupid neck. Afterwards they hoisted me and tied me to a chair. "LET ME GO!" I screamed while rocking the chair from side to side.

"Listen," Mom said seeing that Dad was unable to talk at the moment "It's for your own good. At least now you'll be able to have a decent shot at life."

"What do you mean?" I hissed while still rocking. Considering all my careful thinking, that wasn't a smart idea. I fell over and hit my head on the floor.

"Well… your grades are failing and we're border line bankruptcy you also need to learn to be a young lady. I believe that this marriage will handle all three. Now we won't have to worry about a job. And you could afford whatever college you want." Mom said diplomatically. I glared at her as best as I could with my head on the ground.

"Did I forget your birthday or something?" I groaned. My head was throbbing and I felt like flushing myself down a toilet. "Bankruptcy?" my mind raced "B-but McDonald's pays well!"

Mom shook her head slowly "Not enough, sweetheart. Please try to understand. You'll be able to stand up on your own two feet and help the family. Isn't that what you want?"

"No. What I want is a sane family."

Mom leaned over and pinched my cheek in a motherly fashion. I don't know why she did that. It hurt. "One day you'll thank me."

She got up and exited the room leaving me alone with Dad who was still rubbing his throat. I glared at her retreating form. I yelled the first thing that came to mind "MAY A PLAGUE OF LOCUST STRIKE YOUR CROPS!!!"

I sighed heavily and rested my cheek against the ground. My eyes slowly shut. I thought of both Neji and Sasuke. Why couldn't I just marry their dog?

Mom said I would thank her one day. I hope she's right, for her sake.

-

-

**End Chapter**

**This story is definitely going to be less serious than 'Wait! I'm marrying Who?!?" and the other story that I'm going to be working on once I'm through with the other one. Please let me know what you think! Oh keep an eye out for another SasuSaku. It'll probably only have 5 chapters but still…**

**-hearts- Nikki!**


	2. Model behavior

Chapter two, why I updated I'll never know. Oh and in case anyone asks WTF?!? This story is for my older sister who is all alone in college. Any flamers can bite me.

Also, since I have no clue on what goes on in Japan, I'm kinda making up my own thingy. I guess Konoha will be kinda like California or something. Although there will be pleny mentions of Japanese culture, THIS IS NOT JAPAN!

**Disclaimer: After I take over the world, owning Naruto will be a piece of cake. Until then I must bide my time.**

**AU Mostly Tenten's POV**

**-**

**-**

"A little more to the left! Yes that's it! Perfect!" More flashes.

I resisted blinking as the crazed photographer took several more pictures. I was already seeing stars.

"Let's see a smile!" I gave him my 'award winning' seductive smile. "YES! THAT'S IT!" the stupid man was practically dancing for joy.

The flashing finally ended as he placed his camera down carefully. I could see Anko standing behind him pantomiming strangling him. Somehow seeing her do that made me smile. Seeing my smile made the photographer, Mr. Wasabi take more pictures.

I got off the small stage and was quickly ushered off while having my face 'repainted' by several makeup artists. I tried to say something but was silenced as a small woman added lip stick to make my lips look lighter. Glowering at her I half stumbled into a room where I was given different clothes.

Mr. Wasabi desperately wanted the pictures for his new winter line out even though winter wasn't for three more months.

Anko barreled her way into my dressing room. "How ya doin kid?" she asked with a grin.

I honestly didn't know. I forced a smile and nodded "Good. How am I supposed to pull this on?" I held up a tiger print jacket. These clothes were definitely for the poor people.

I half heartedly listened to Anko's long list of directions before pulling the set on. The jacket fit comfortably but the pants made my legs itch. Once finished I followed Anko back to the studio where I was to pose with a totally different background.

"What I want here is a tiger look, I'm looking for something fierce and sexy. Can you do that for me?" I gave my best smile.

"Of course." I said sweetly. Inwardly I was beating him over his fat head with that stupid camera.

"Great! To add to the tiger appeal I need you on the ground."

I smiled again and lay down on one side with one leg stretched out while the other half bent, I propped myself up by one arm.

"Good…" Mr. Wasabi said cheerfully but his face held a frown. I wondered what I did wrong.

"But what I'm really looking for is something fierce." He explained as he lowered his camera "Think angry, fierce thoughts! Think like a tiger! Think, someone has stepped on your territory!"

I nodded quickly. I closed my eyes briefly. What to think about? Thoughts of Mom and Dad's stupid land and them selling me flooded my mind. I quickly interpreted my thoughts into motion. Mr. Wasabi was practically dancing for joy. I don't think I could have got any fiercer.

Stupid Mother, stupid father, stupid Neji, Stupid Sasuke, stupid land, Stupid grandfather…

After several more shots at different angles Mr. Wasabi announced that it was a wrap. Sighing in relief I picked myself off the ground and half-stumbled towards my dressing room. Soon I was back into my McDonald's uniform with my hair pulled into twin buns. All traces of makeup were smeared off my face.

"Good job." Anko muttered while writing something down. "C'mon."

"Goodbye Mr. Wasabi! Thank you!" he smiled and waved to me.

I followed her wearily as she complained about stupid designers taking all day with their photos. I agree with Anko, but my mind wasn't on her argument. All I could think of was how seriously screwed up my life was right now.

-

-

I got home at one o' clock a.m. It took all of my skills to sneak past my parents bedroom and into my own. Once there I stripped myself of my uniform and changed into my favorite nightdress. It was a very ladylike dress with it's cute little stuffed bears and their flowers. Curling under my covers I closed my eyes and prepared for another hectic day of school.

-

-

"Tenten? Are you alright? Hellooooo!!!"

I stared dully as my best friend tried to catch my attention. She waved a hand in front of my unblinking eyes. In a last minute attempt she grabbed my arm and pinched it firmly.

"YOOOOWWWWCCCHHHHH!!!"

I ran after her while swinging my book bag as a lethal weapon. No one pinches me and gets away with it!

I brushed past Kiba who laughed before running after me. The three of us weaved through the mass of highschoolers while laughing like children. I finally caught up with Temari right by the water fountain.

"I give! I give!" she panted.

Smirking I reached over and pinched her before bending over to get some water. The water at our school tastes awful, but H2o is H2o. I leaned up with my cheeks still full of water and turned around.

I ran straight into Uchiha Sasuke who gave me his world famous smirk. "Hey."

What happened next is NOT MY FAULT! I was shocked okay? Well in my shock I spat all my water out. Onto his nice, clean shirt.

Temari and I stared in horror at the dripping Uchiha. I couldn't believe it. I just spat on THE Uchiha Sasuke. He wasn't just Uchiha Sasuke; he has a 'the' before his name.

I regret saying this but… thank Kami for Kiba. The dog boy burst out laughing. His laughter was so infectious that all of us stood there laughing like idiots.

Once I got over my giggles I quickly apologized. I still hate his guts and all, but spitting on a person is downright low. "I'm really sorry about that." I said quickly "You caught me by surprise."

He nodded and shrugged his shoulders in an indifferent motion. "It's ok. Anyways, I just stopped by to ask how good you are in science."

I was about to tell him that I was about as much of a scientist as Kiba is a genius when Temari cut me off.

"She's awesome! You should see her report cards!" she gushed while clinging onto his arm. Shikamaru approached and gave a 'tch' before turning the other way. I felt really bad for the poor guy.

Kiba looked between the three of us. "Wait a minute… Tenten, awesome?" he gave another laugh. I glared at him and dunked his head into the water fountain in an attempt to drown him.

"Are you good or not?" This time Sasuke's smooth voice came out impatient.

"No." I said.

"Yes." Temari said at the same time. I death glared her angrily. She mouthed 'you'll thank me later' before turning back to Sasuke with starry eyes.

He looked between us before shrugging and walking off with a group of drooling fan girls following close behind. I made a mental note not to slip in their drool.

I sighed in relief. I silently thanked Kami that that was over. Before I could kill Temari, the bell rang. "Darn! Now I'm late and it's all your fault!" I pointed to my grinning friend angrily. "I'll kill you later!" I hissed before running down the hall.

-

-

I hate my homeroom teacher. At first I thought he was pretty cool but now I want him dead. And then I'll feed him to the gorillas.

When I arrived later than he did (the zipper to my book bag broke) he gave me a warning and then I had to sit in the front row.

Glaring at everything within the vicinity I folded my arms on my desk and buried my face in them. Was it my fault that my zipper decided to give out? The door slid open revealing Uchiha Sasuke.

"You're late." Kakashi said from behind his stupid novel. I wanted to grab it and force feed it to him.

"Sorry. I had some business."

I gaped. He didn't even punish him! I jumped up, fire coursing through my veins. There was no way that I was going to allow this kind of injustice. "HEY! You!" I pointed to Kakashi who raised an eyebrow "Why didn't you punish him?"

"Because he has a legitimate excuse and you do not."

"I HAD AN EXCUSE!" I slammed by book bag on his desk and pointed to the broken zipper.

Kakashi-sensei sighed and closed his book. "You want him punished? Fine. Detention for both of you. Now get out of my face, the book is getting interesting."

My jaw dropped "WHAT? You nasty little…" he waved his book under my nose warningly. I shut my mouth and sunk back into my chair. Forget gorillas, I was gonna kill him and feed him to the piranhas.

-

-

I glowered all during lunch. I could almost see a dark cloud hanging over my head.

"Tenten?" Kiba asked, poking my shoulder. I reached over and smashed his chips.

"NOOOOO!!!" he sobbed, clutching his bag of crushed chips.

Temari and Shikamaru eyed me warily but wisely held their tongues. I glared across the cafeteria at Uchiha Sasuke who returned the glare. It was official. He was a dead man walking. No one angers Tenten and gets away with it!

I stabbed my salad angrily and stuffed my mouth with lettuce leaves. It was at that moment that Hyuga Neji decided to walk up to my table. I glanced up at him. I must have looked like an idiot with my cheeks stuffed like a chipmunks.

"Wha-do-ug-wag?" I asked intelligently.

He blinked.

Temari quickly covered for me "She means, 'what do you want?'"

He shook his head slowly but continued to watch me as I chewed. I stared up at him, wondering why he was staring at me.

After five minute I finally managed to clear my mouth. "What's your problem?" I growled. To prove my point I snapped the plastic cafeteria fork in half.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"STOP STARING AT ME!"

The whole cafeteria went silent as they turned to watch us. Kiba slammed his forehead on his plate which resulted in a face full of spaghetti.

Shikamaru sighed loudly "Troublesome people…"

Temari just watched Neji with extra sparkly eyes.

Neji finally stopped staring to smirk. He then turned and headed over towards his table. I watched him leave with a confusion expression on my face. What was that about?

Temari broke the awkward silence by squealing "OH MY GOD!!! DID YOU JUST SEE THAT?"

"….yes I did…" I glared at Neji's back.

"Both hotties talking to you in one day! You are so lucky!"

"Sasuke was talking about science and old bug eyes just stared at me." I grumbled between lettuce leaves.

"Yeah who cares?" Temari hugged me "You are such a lucky girl!"

"If only you knew…" I mumbled under my breath.

-

-

The rest of the day was fairly normal. During science class my cell phone went off in the middle of Kurenai explaining SOMETHING to us. It was hard to pay attention. Especially with that creep Sasuke watching me with a calculating look on his face. I wondered if he knew about the agreement between our parents.

Anyways, it was while Kurenai was talking about something that my cell phone instantly began playing 'The Way I Are' by Timbaland. I gulped. That ring tone was set for whenever Anko called. She picked that one especially.

I grinned and waved at Kurenai-sensei before reaching into my pocket for the accursed phone. "Make it fast." I whispered. Kurenai-sensei was now glaring daggers at me. It seems like people love glaring at me for some reason. I wonder why.

"Can you make a shoot today!" Anko asked rather loudly. I could tell she was on the road. That was the only time she yelled.

I looked around the room in panic as all the students turned to look at me. "I'm in class." I said irately.

"Oh. Sorry." She gave an uneasy chuckle. "Anyways, can you make it to my house today for a cup of tea?" she gave a fake old lady voice.

Anko is really crazy about codes and stuff like that. So we formed one for whenever I was in an area where others could hear her. Whenever she says 'come to my house' it means a photo shoot. When she says 'Cup of tea' she means that we'll be working with a Caroline Rigsby, a unknown British designer.

I only work with Ms. Rigsby because I love rooting for the underdog. A few of her designs have been accepted. Every now and then I see a couple kids wearing some of her clothes.

"Okay." I whispered "What time?"

"Nine?"

"Alright. See you then." I quickly hung up. By now all the students were giving me weird looks. Kurenai raised both eyebrows waaayyy up.

"Tenten," she rubbed her temples. I wondered if she had a headache. "You know the rules about cell phones."

"I'm really sorry!" I said quickly "But I was waiting for that call. It was my… aunt. She's been so sickly lately and I had called her earlier and was waiting for her to return it."

I prayed that she would accept my weak excuse. After staring at me for a few moments she heaved a sigh. "Fine. But if it rings one more time, I'm taking it."

"It won't ring! I promise!" It was at that exact moment that my phone rang playing 'No One' by Alicia Keys.

I pulled it out. It only played that ring tone when Caroline called. She loves that song and begged for me to add it.

"Let me get this!" I begged "and I'll shut it off!"

Unfortunately, Kurenai sensei didn't listen. She plucked the phone out of my hand and opened it. I felt my whole world crash down.

"Hello? I'm sorry but Tenten is in class right now and cannot be disturbed." She said impatiently.

I heard a pause. "Tenten?" came Caroline's confused voice. Her British accent quite clear. All the students were eyeing me curiously now.

"Isn't this To-" I tackled Kurenai-sensei in desperation and pulled the phone out of her hands.

"Caroline! Can you call back please! I'm really busy!"

"Okay darling…" she said slowly. "But all I wanted was some basic information for the pho-"

"REALLY BUSY!" I shrieked before hanging up. I'd have some serious explaining to do later. I turned back to Kurenai-sensei who was obviously trying to conjure up a fitting doom for me.

"Detention."

I pounded my fists on the ground "NOOOOO!"

-

-

It was early evening by the time that I got home. Detention is the worst. Especially when you share it with a weirdo like Sasuke. I swear, he has mental problems or something. One minute he's staring at me, the next he's ignoring me like I'm some kind of pest.

I dragged my feet up the stairs as I half heartedly knocked on the door.

The door swung open to reveal my Mother's smiling face. "Guess what?" she asked excitedly.

"The Hyuga and Uchiha corp. buildings burst into flame?"

She frowned "No. I arranged a meeting with both companies! Get dressed Tenten, we're going to the Hyuga's!"

While she was talking, I tried pushing my way past her. As soon as she said that last sentence, I fell face first on the ground.

I pulled my face out of our nice carpet. Courtesy of 'McDonald's' "WHAT?"

My mother sighed as she closed the door and turned to face me. She had that 'not again' look on her face. "Listen honey, I just think that's it'd be nice for you to get to know your future husband. Don't you?"

"HE'S NOT MY FUTURE HUSBAND!" My cat, Yuki ran past her with both ears flattened against her head. I guess my voice was really getting to her.

Mother's face lit up as she clapped her hands. "So you're marrying the Uchiha?"

"I didn't say that either!"

"So you're marrying the Hyuga?" her eye grew large.

"MOM!"

"Okay…" she sighed dramatically "Just get dressed alright?"

I glared up at her before scrambling to my feet. "I'll wear nice pants and a decent shirt but I will NOT wear my hair down! Understand?"

She gave me an unsteady grin, her head tilted to the side. I could sense her trying to pull a power beg on me. "Please?" she pouted.

"No!"

Her eyes lit up "I know!" she squealed "At least wear only one hair tie. Fair?"

I glared. She smiled.

"Fine. But I can wear my hair whatever way I want."

She hugged me tightly before running upstairs, giggling like a child. "One hair tie!" she yelled before disappearing around the corner.

I rolled my eyes. Tonight was definitely going to be interesting. My eye twitched.

Father came by sipping on a can of soda. He raised an eyebrow at me as I continued to stare at the carpet with my right eye twitching. He approached me slowly "Is everything alright."

"Everything's fine." I said through gritted teeth "What would make you think that anything's wrong?"

"Well…"

I snatched the soda out of his hand before he could say anything. I downed it in three seconds before crushing the can in my hand. I stalked off leaving him to stare at the can in shock.

As I stormed up the stairs I realized that I'd have to cancel the photo shoot. This stupid agreement was getting in the way of my life. I needed to find a way to cancel it and fast.

It was then that I decided that I would fight the deal off my own way. If Mother and Father won't cancel the agreement then my 'beaus' will. I grinned dementedly. Time to horrify the Hyuga.

**End Chapter**

Blah, blah I know I know. It's for my sister –points to the top- Please review anyway. I'd really appreciate it.


	3. Meeting the Hyuga

Chapter three… yippee ki yay. Well anywayzers, like I said I'm writing this for me and my sister. Right now I'm beyond caring about reviews. But to you guys who did review, thank you so much. You guys are the greatest.

**Disclaimer: -yawns- do we have to go through this every time? I don't own Naruto… yet –evil laugh-**

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**-**

Sitting on my bed, I took a deep breath as I calmed myself down. In order to succeed with this I had to be calm, calculative, and clever. There was just absolutely no way that I'd marry the Hyuga willingly. They'd have to kill me first. Then again… if I were dead I wouldn't have to marry. Never mind.

I had already gotten changed. At first Mom had pulled out a black cocktail dress, but I ripped it to shreds. Right now I was dressed in my 'dressiest' outfit. A pink Chinese top and black pants. They weren't my usual clothes but they would have to do.

Now the hard part… the hair. I stared at myself in the mirror. I LOVED my buns. Why would she try to take them from me?

I sighed as I reached up to pull out a hair tie. Now my hair had one bun and the other half out. I stroked my long brown hair and sighed again. Then the idea came in my head. She said one hair tie right? I began laughing aloud. Mother would never see this one coming.

As I finished cackling and put on my shoes I realized that I had one freaky laugh.

-

-

An hour later, I slowly glided down the stairs to meet my parents who were anxiously seated in our living room.

"So… how do I look?" I kept my voice light and perky.

Mother looked up with a smile and just as soon as it appeared it dropped. Her eyes went from anxious-mother to angry-killer in three seconds flat.

"Tenten! What did you do to your hair!" she screeched. Father fell of the couch while holding his ears. Poor guy. I'll have to buy him a hearing aid for Christmas.

I smiled charmingly at her. "What are you talking about? You said one hair tie right?"

She stormed up to me "This is not what I meant!"

"Be more specific next time."

I stuck my tongue out at her as she ground her teeth together angrily. Inwardly I prayed to Kami-sama that she would not kill me. She has a serious anger problem. I guess that's where I got mine.

Mother closed her eyes and seemingly counted to ten. "I meant one hair tie as in a ponytail or something more becoming. Not…" she seemed at lost for words "THIS!"

I grinned; this hairstyle was one of my best accidental creations. I had half my hair the same way I left it after I exited my bedroom, making me look like a lopsided fool. I tilted my head to the side and grinned harder. I was waiting for her to say those magic words.

She must've sensed it because her grin suddenly matched my own. "Fine. You're old enough to make your own decisions, you can wear your hair like that to the Hyuga."

My eyes bulged "W-what?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" She had me there. I cursed inwardly but kept a sweet smile on my face.

"Thank. You. So. Much." I ground out through gritted teeth. I moved robotically to get my shoulder bag. "You. Are. Too. Kind." I stiffly followed Father out the door. This was going to be one heckuva evening.

-

-

It was 8 o'clock when our car pulled up to the Hyuga mansion. Mother, Father, and my jaws all dropped as we stopped right in front of the expensive looking golden gate. Behind it we could see glimpses of a mansion that made our house look like a wood shed.

Mother got a greedy look in her eyes as she cackled and rubbed her hands together. "Oh yesss! You are definitely marrying the Hyuga!"

"I Am not!"

"You are too!"

"I AM NOT!"

"YOU ARE TOO!"

"Uh… girls?" Father squeaked.

"WHAT?!?" we both screamed at him making him duck under the steering wheel. He raised a hand and pointed towards the windshield.

"We're there."

We turned in unison and our jaws dropped for the second time that evening.

-

-

As soon as we parked we were escorted, that's right, ESCORTED inside of the mansion. The first thing we all said as we stepped in was "Wooooow!"

I looked down at the well furnished marble flooring and marble pillars. The Hyuga seemed to have a thing for marble toned furniture since almost everything was like that. A maid led us into the dining room which looked more like a banquet hall.

As we entered in Mother started humming 'Here Comes The Bride'. I glared at her before speeding up so that I was ahead of her. She gave me a sneaky smile. She really had her heart set on this.

"Greetings and welcome to our humble home." We turned to see Hyuga Hiashi rise up from his chair with a warm smile on his face. His gray eyes were as freaky as Neji's. Well okay, maybe they weren't freaky… but they were definitely different.

Mother ran me and the maid over in order to shake his hand. She gave him an equally warm smile. "It's such an honor to be her Hyuga-san."

"Please, just call me Hiashi-san." He said humbly.

"Alright, Hiashi-kun."

He smiled "That sounds much better."

Father and I stared at her with giant eyes; our jaws nearly hit the floor. Were they… were they flirting?

I hurried over to break them up. "Hi, you must be Neji!" I said.

Hiashi blinked in surprise. That's the exact same reaction I got from everyone I ran into at this mansion. I smiled charmingly at him.

"No, no I'm Hiashi. You must be Tenten…" he said slowly as if unsure of himself. "That's an interesting hairstyle you have there… very unique."

I stared at his long hair "So is yours!"

Mother rushed in "Yes… ha ha!" she chuckled with a put on smile. She turned to me with a look that said I was going to get it later. "Strange hairstyles are quite the rage these days!"

Hiashi nodded slowly as he did a double take of my hairstyle. I belched. Mother blanched. Father looked between us hopelessly.

Oh yeah… this was going to be good.

-

-

It was after we were seated that the girly looking chump, I mean Hyuga Neji entered. He was dressed in a casual blue t-shirt and matching gray pants. He looked between the odd group with obvious disinterest, his eyes lingered longer on me as he looked at my hairstyle and raised an eyebrow.

It was then that an idea struck me. Neji hated fan girls right? What if…

I leapt out of my chair and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing as hard as I could. He gasped for breath as I lifted him up a little and squeezed even harder.

"NEJI-KUN!" I squealed in my best fan-girl impersonation. I finally let him down to smile brightly at him. "AAAHHHH!!!" I screamed making him wince "YOU LOOK SO GOOD IN BLUE!"

"Thank. You." He said through gritted teeth. He sounded very much like I did earlier this evening. Those facts made me frown… I didn't want to have anything in common with the Hyuga including my tone of voice.

We stared at each other for a few moments. "AAAAHHHH!!!" I screamed again. This time he jumped and a maid dropped a plate. "Did you do something new with your hair?" I reached over to play with his long girly locks "It's so clean and shiny!"

I finally backed off him to seat myself beside my Mother who looked at me as if I were crazy. At this point I didn't know. All I knew was that I was having the time of my life.

Neji seated himself across from me in a huffy. Who knew a teenage boy could be so girly? I fluttered my eyelashes at him which earned a scowl. So far so good. Now if only he would call off the engagement thingy… Then all I'd have to do is get rid of Sasuke and I'd be home free!

Hiashi cleared his throat in order to break the awkward silence. "Um, I guess you two have been acquainted already…"

"Oh yes!" I cried eagerly "Neji-kun knows me from school, isn't that right Neji-kun?"

He stared at me the same way he did at the cafeteria, as though he were trying to figure me out. I didn't like that look so I fluttered my eyelashes once more. He blinked.

"…yes…."

I beamed at him as a maid set down a plate of sushi and some other funny looking stuff. I picked up my chopsticks (I prefer them over forks) and began digging in with added sound effects. Mother looked horrified, Neji continued to stare at me, Father began praying, and Hiashi looked… pleased? I did a double take. What was he grinning about?

Mother kicked me under the table, making me sit up straight. I needed a less obvious strategy that would get rid of the Hyuga. Maybe if I already had a boyfriend? It was worth a shot…

"Wow this food is great!" I said around my mouthful of sushi "It reminds me of the food at my boyfriend's house!"

"BOYFRIEND?!?" Mother, Father, Neji, Hiashi, and the maid asked incredulously.

I nodded "Yeah, didn't you know?" I turned to Mother and Father with an accusing glare. "It's Kiba-kun!"

"KIBA?!?" They asked in unison.

I nodded again, this time sighing as though they were stupid. "How many times to I have to repeat myself? Kiba-kun's my boyfriend."

"Tenten," My mother gaped "You never told us that!"

"Well you never asked."

"So I'm to understand that you're currently dating someone?" Hiashi asked over his raised glass of wine. I met his gaze and nodded.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully "Well that would provide a problem. Oh well, I guess that's why he's your boyfriend and not husband. You can always break up."

"YES!" Mom jumped up "BREAK UP! BREAK UP!"

I stared at her like she was crazy "But I love him!"

"NO! BREAK UP WITH HIM!" she leaned over to whisper "Can't you tell a great opportunity when you see one? Marry Neji and we'll be rich!"

I stood up sharply "NO! I love him and don't ever wanna break up with him! So there!" I turned to Hiashi "I'm sorry but this dinner is over."

I tried storming out dramatically but Mother caught me by the arm and forced me to sit down. She leaned her face towards mine "Listen… just go through with this and I'll… I'll never tell you how to wear your hair again."

My eyes lit up. This was an opportunity that I didn't want to miss. "You mean it."

"Yeah, just please…"

"Fine."

I turned back to the Hyuga and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just practicing for my part in the school play."

"School play?" those were the first words that Neji had said in fifteen minutes. I was almost surprised by the sound of his voice.

"Uh…" I needed to come up with a lie. "Temari's part of the committee that helps plan student stuff… the student council! And um… she said she'll get me a part in this year's play… yeah."

"…"

"…"

"…"

I sighed, "You don't believe me, do you?"

"No."

I stuck my tongue out "Meanie."

"…"

"Mr. Stinky Pants."

"… Mr. What?"

-

-

After dinner and dessert we stood at the front door preparing to leave. Mother was still flirting with Hiashi and Father was still praying, which left me with Neji. He raised an eyebrow at me again making me glare.

"You were pretending that whole time, weren't you?"

I looked up in surprise but said nothing.

"That awful hairstyle had something to do with it too, didn't it?"

"Gee, aren't you a genius."

He smirked "I know."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to his Uncle and my Mother who were laughing over something. "Sheesh, why doesn't she just marry him and leave me out of this." I grumbled.

Neji gave another one of his infamous smirks. You know, the ones where he has his arms folded and head tilted to the side. The one that makes fan girls go nuts.

I stuck my tongue out at him before Hiashi came up to us. He beamed at me "Well, I'd say this dinner was a success."

I rolled my eyes "A success for who?" I mumbled sarcastically.

He didn't seem to catch that. I guess it's hard to filter out sarcasm when you're smiling hard enough to get facial cramps. He was probably thinking of his fun time with my Mother. Now was the part where he'd break the engagement. I prepared myself to give a good reaction "The truth is, I was quite pleased with you Tenten."

"What's that?" I didn't really hear what he said earlier. "You're breaking the engagement?" I clutched my heart dramatically while my other arm reached out and grabbed Mother "I guess we'll be going. So long!"

Mother broke out of my grasp "Didn't you hear what he said?"

I turned back to him my heart sinking in dread. "What?"

"The truth is," Hiashi, continued "Neji's so stiff and boring… he needs someone wild and fun to help him loosen up. I think you'll be perfect for him."

I was out cold by the time he finished the sentence.

-

-

The first thing I saw when I woke up was a set of gray eyes. _'Not him again'_ I thought. I pushed the person away as my eyes slowly opened.

I turned to yell at the person only to find out that it was a girl. She blushed timidly as she poked her fingers together. Her head was turned to the side so that her indigo hair covered most of her face.

"Who are you?"

"I-I'm Hinata…" she twiddled her fingers even faster as she spoke. I felt sorry for making her feel so uncomfortable.

As I stared at her recognition slowly dawned on me. "I know who you are!" I shouted while pointing at her. "You're Hinata!"

She blinked "I-I just s-said that."

My Mother, Father, Hiashi, and Neji entered the room as soon as I yelled but I wasn't paying attention. "You're the only girl in school who has a crush on Naruto!"

Her face turned beet red as Neji stormed up.

"You like that idiot?" he yelled.

I instantly felt bad for embarrassing her. So I decided to cover up. "Hey," I said, catching Neji's attention "at least she's not MARRYING one!"

It took him one second to catch on to my meaning. He glared at me, I glared back. Hiashi began laughing. "You two really are made for each other!"

"NO WE'RE NOT!" we both yelled.

"Tenten, honey are you feeling okay?" Mother asked worryingly as she smoothed my hair down. As she stroked my hair she took advantage of that and undid my other tie.

"Give that back!" I reached out but it was too late. It was safely in her pocket.

She and the others in the room stared at me. "Wow." Mom breathed, "If you dressed yourself up a little, you'd look just like Tohru."

Everyone else in the room seemed to be thinking the same thing, they all nodded in agreement. I needed to get out of this predicament, and fast. Thinking quickly, I reached over to Neji and snatched the hair tie off the end of his hair and wrapped my hair up into a quick bun.

Neji turned to me angrily, his hair slightly disheveled from my sudden action. I hated thinking this, but he looked very very hot with his hair out.

Bad Tenten! Do not feel attracted to the enemy! I inwardly berated myself. I would have to do a hundred pushups later in punishment, and if I didn't reach a hundred I would…

Damn. I was starting to sound like Lee, my old gym partner.

As Neji continued to glare and Hiashi continued to smile I realized that I would need a better plan than this to end the engagement. If the Hyuga were this impossible, I could only imagine how the Uchiha would be. I groaned I would definitely need a better plan than this.

I followed my parents obediently as they bid the Hyuga farewell and apologized about Neji's hair tie (there was no way that I was letting go).

As soon as we were in the car Mother whirled on me "What were you thinking earlier?" she demanded.

I shrugged. Before I could come up with a witty reply Father jumped in. "What were YOU thinking earlier? If you like that rich, pompous ass so much just marry him and leave us out of it!"

We both stared in surprise. I had never seen Father so angry before. Mother seemed to notice that since she immediately went silent. I inwardly thanked him. I reminded myself to bake him cookies or something.

We were almost home when Mother broke the silence. "Tomorrow we meet the Uchiha family."

"WHAT?!?"

-

-

**End Chapter**

It's kinda rushed since I'm watching Naruto right now and I have a busy day tomorrow. Still, please read and review. I really would appreciate it. Later.


	4. You just can't win

Hi, sorry about the long update. It's just that… well my Grandma came over for the week and I wanted to spend time with her. She always takes us shopping and hanging out with he is mad fun and I didn't want to miss any moment of it. So I apologize… (not really, Grandma is way more important). Either who, enjoy (I hope).

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Who wants to when you could own Neji? Admit it… Neji is H.O.T.**

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**-**

The next day of school was probably the strangest. I got to school late on account of my being dead tired from the previous evening.

I barely stumbled into the hall when rabid fan girls surrounded me. When I say rabid, I mean rabid. I could practically see them foaming at the mouth.

"What did you do to our precious Neji-kun?" one demanded.

I blinked. Then I blinked again. I figured they were crazy so the best option was to come up with some intelligent reply that would astound them and make them leave me alone.

"Huh?"

Never mind.

"YOU HEARD ME!" a blonde girl shrieked as she lunged herself at me. I dodged out of the way only to be pinned by some random red head (no offense to all you red heads in the audience.)

Whoever this red head was, she sure could pin someone down. I think she must have been training to be a police officer or something because I could not move.

"Last night," she hissed, "one of our spies saw you leaving Neji-kun's house. What were you doing there."

I blinked again and realized that I blinked a lot. "Are you stalking him or something?" I asked. Actually I found it pretty funny.

The girl looked around all shifty eyed. "Never mind that, what were you doing at his house?"

Back to square one. I rolled my eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Fine, Neji and I were…"

"Tenten."

We all looked up to see the devil himself standing over me with a bemused smirk on his face. I slammed my face into the ground. The girls around me and the one on top of me suddenly went all starry eyed.

"NEJI-KUN!" they squealed in unison. I raised an eyebrow; did they practice it or something?

"Hn."

They squealed again. Neji was staring down at me and I was trying to disappear into the ground. The last thing I needed was for that jerk to save me. I was doing just fine before he came well, sort of.

"What are you doing to Tenten?" he asked slowly.

I don't think they realized his question because they squealed again. I think they were just happy to know that he was talking to them.

"I'll ask again, what are you doing to Tenten?"

"What was she doing at your house?" the red head demanded. Well, at least one of them has a spine.

His gray eyes suddenly went cold. Wrong move.

"Akiko, I asked you a question." Wait a second… he knows his fan girl's names?

She blushed after realizing that he knew her name. Akiko suddenly started looking very nervous. I took that opportunity to roll over and throw her off me and then jump to my feet. I smirked down at them triumphantly. "And one!" I crowed.

Neji looked amused again which was really irritating me. I glared at him for a split second and returned my glare to the rabid were wolves, I mean fan girls.

"Neji-kun…" a brunette attempted pouting sexily "we got mad because she was at your house. What was she-"

"I invited her."

The fan girls and myself whirled towards him. "WHAT?"

That stupid jerk did not invite me, his insane uncle did. I was about to tell him that when he said, "Don't touch her again." Before I could register that he grabbed my arm and lead me down the hall, leaving his fan girls to writhe in agony.

A thought suddenly occurred to me as he dragged me down the hall. I yanked my arm out of his grasp. "Why do you care what happens to me?" I demanded.

He shrugged indifferently "I don't."

I gaped "So then why…"

"Hyuga corp. will never get the land if you die on my account."

That stupid jerk! How dare he? I glared at him and raised my foot and… brought it down as hard as I could on his foot.

It was a pretty good shot; I had to admit. He was hopping up and down while clutching his foot. I smirked before storming off.

-

-

"Tenten? Hey is everything alright? Teeeen-teeen." Temari waved a hand in front of my face. Total déjà vu.

"Go away." I snarled through gritted teeth. She stared down at me in confusion. Kiba who was standing behind her raised both eyebrows.

"I bet it's that time of the month." He said, trying to sound like a scholar or something.

I kicked him in the shins.

"OUCH! TENTEN!" he hollered, gaining the attention of every student around. I smirked; he looked a lot like Neji when he jumped up and down like that.

Shikamaru appeared out of nowhere looking bored as usual. He barely spared the hopping Kiba a glance as he walked up to us girls.

"What's up?" he drawled while shoving his hands into his pockets.

I shook my head "Neji is a jerk, that's what's up."

Temari gaped and Kiba stopped hopping. "Is that what this is about?" they asked.

I nodded tiredly. "Him and his fan girls can all go to hell."

"Ouch." Kiba winced "Harsh."

"You mean… you talked to The Hyuga Neji?" Temari gasped, clutching a hand to her heart dramatically.

Shikamaru shook his head like a wise old man. "Duh."

I felt really bad for Shikamaru. He and Temari have been dating for like a year but she still has that silly infatuation with the rich pretty boys. Sometimes I wish he would just slap her or something, you know to get her out of it. I hoisted my book bag over my shoulder and marched to class with my friends trailing behind me.

"He just is so stuck up. It drives me crazy." I explained as we hurried down the hall "That's all."

"But being stuck up is part of what makes him so hot!" Temari squealed throwing her hands in the air, several fan girls joined her in squealing. Shikamaru and I rolled our eyes. Kiba jumped in front of the group of girls with his arms spread out.

"Hey girls! There's enough Kiba for everyone!" The girls ran him over to get to Sasuke. I looked down at his twitching form and sighed.

"You should have seen it coming."

Temari gasped. I looked up to see Uchiha Sasuke stepping over Kiba and walking up to me. Not another one.

"Can I help you?" I asked tiredly.

Behind me several girls fainted as he stared at me intently. Okay, so he probably could run for hottest guy in Konoha, so what? I've seen several male models who could compare. I gasped, I forgot to call Anko and cancel tonight! Caroline would have a fit!

I shoved past Sasuke and ran all the way outside. As soon as I opened the door the bell rang. I swore under my breath, I would be late! Decisions, decisions…

I flipped open my cell phone and dialed Anko's number. After three rings she picked up.

"Who the hell are you?" her voice was groggy, she probably stayed out late last night. I sweat dropped; she didn't even check her caller id.

"It's me! Tohru! Listen, I need to cancel tonight because I'm going to the Uchiha mansion. Can we make plans for tomorrow night?"

"I guess… you know Caroline only wants you for her new line."

"Thanks, you're an angel. Tell Caroline I'm sorry and I'll catch up with her later, okay?"

"Whatever." She hung up.

I sighed in relief as I leaned against the building. I prayed that Caroline wouldn't get too angry with me. I was turning around to head inside when I heard a voice behind me.

"You're late for class."

I whirled around to see Uchiha Sasuke, in all his glory standing right behind me. I clutched my heart in panic. Did he hear my conversation? It'd be all over then.

"Y-yeah…" I stammered, I was still shaken by his sudden appearance "S-s-so wh-what? I-I'm always l-late for class…"

He looked at me scornfully, his arms folded. "You'd best hurry."

"Y-yeah…" I managed to still my heart a little. I was still panicking. "D-did you hear my conversation?"

He looked confused. Maybe I had a chance. Sasuke shrugged "Only the last part."

I prayed that he didn't know who Caroline was. Feeling slightly relieved I managed a small smile. Things were looking a little brighter for me.

"Well… I guess I should head to class…" I attempted to chuckle but ended up sounding like a duck. So much for chuckling.

He shrugged again "I'll walk you."

I stared in surprise, my jaw totally dropped. He walked a few steps before stopping to look at me out of the corner of his eye. "Are you coming or not?"

Closing my jaw I nodded my head and ran to catch up with him.

-

-

As class ended I gathered up my books (which took a long while) and ended up being the last person to leave the class. I swung my book bag over my shoulder and pushed the door open only to be confronted by a horde of angry fan girls.

"What did you do to our precious Sasuke-kun?" one girl demanded.

I dropped my head. Not this again…

-

-

"TENTEN! Thank Kami you're home!" my mother cried before enveloping me in a stranglehold, I mean hug.

"We need to get ready to meet the Uchiha! Come, I have the perfect clothes for you!" she yanked me by the hand and practically dragged me up the stairs. We passed by Father who stood in the doorway dramatically waving a handkerchief.

"I got you something lavender because that seems to be one of your colors! I also got this totally cute matching skirt with black boots, or is that too sexy? I figured if we stop by the hair salon on the way there your hair will stay in place longer! Do we have a-"

I drowned out her chattering with my Mp4 player. She really can be a spazz sometimes.

-

-

By the time we reached the Uchiha mansion we were already half an hour late, courtesy of me. I fought that hair stylist tooth and nail. Literally. In the end I wore my usual hairstyle and a purple blouse with my favorite black pants. Mother cried the whole way there.

The gates swung open (déjà vu) to reveal a humongous mansion with enough land to make anyone's eyes pop out. Mother turned to me with a grin.

I shook my head "You're wasting your time. There's no way I'm marrying either of these guys."

She merely cackled and turned back to the mansion. A servant opened the door and another one swept us into the mansion. Unlike the Hyuga, the Uchiha seemed to enjoy finely furnished wood. I ran my hand over a mahogany lamp stand as we were led into their Dining room. Instead of having something equivalent to a ballroom they had a simple looking room with well furnished tables and chairs.

Mother seemed somewhat disappointed; I guess she was expecting something from Cinderella.

"Welcome, I pray that you had a nice trip?" we looked up to see Uchiha Fugaku walking towards us with open arms. It was supposed to look like a welcoming gesture, but to me it looked like he wanted to kill something.

"Yes we did." Mother bowed respectfully "We were enjoying the-" she went off on a long tangent. That woman really knew how to kiss up to someone.

I looked behind Fugaku to see his wife Mikoto; she gave me a brief smile. I couldn't help but smile back. She seemed like someone I would like to know.

Beside Mikoto stood Sasuke wearing his usual scowl and his older brother look-alike. I had to do a double take before realizing that that was the older son, Itachi. He looked so much like Sasuke that they could've passed for twins if it weren't for the obvious age difference.

Mikoto elbowed Sasuke. He bowed stiffly "Welcome." He said through gritted teeth. I smirked.

I could tell that Mother was disappointed that Fugaku was married. Hey, we have to get rich SOMEHOW.

"Please, seat yourselves." With a grand gesture he motioned towards the dining room table. We seated ourselves and since we had nothing to talk about we stared at each other like idiots.

Sasuke's eye was twitching, Itachi looked indifferent, Mother was staring intently at Fugaku, Fugaku was staring at the ceiling (I think he was praying), Mikoto was fidgeting, Father was nervously squeezing his fork which snapped in half, and I was watching them all trying not to laugh.

I didn't want to please the family, but this was downright boring. "I seem to notice this symbol everywhere." I held up a napkin which had the Uchiha Symbol "I understand that this is a family symbol correct?" they nodded. "Where exactly did it originate from?"

Fugaku looked relieved "Well, I'm glad you asked…" his explanation went on all during dinner. It was hopelessly boring but at least if filled in all the awkward silences.

As we all stood up at the end of dinner… "-and that's how the Uchiha family got their symbol."

I nodded while Mother oohed and aahed over how interesting the history of it was. I didn't hear one word and from the looks of it neither did anyone else.

Father stared silently at Sasuke and Itachi. Itachi returned his stare with a look of blatant indifference. I wondered why I didn't have to marry Itachi.

As if she heard my question Mikoto leaned over to me "Itachi disgraced the family name too many times, he was removed from his position as heir to the company. He also shows no interest in running the business as he has decided to pursue other careers using his natural assets." She sounded kind of tense but I nodded anyway.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "Why don't… us adults sit down and have a glass of wine. You kids can just talk or do whatever children do these days."

Itachi gave a half smirk "Good idea." I was shocked, those were the first words I heard out of his mouth all day.

Fugaku shook his head "I meant us older adults. You stay with them so that they don't get into any trouble."

Who the heck did this guy think we were? I could tell Sasuke was thinking the same thing because he was glaring hatred at his father.

The adults quickly left leaving us three to stare at each other, and stare we did. Itachi sighed and leaned against the wall with his arms folded and his eyes shut in meditation. He was probably devising some way to kill us all. I twitched.

Sasuke fixed his gaze on me which was making me really uncomfortable. I did my best to avoid his gaze by fixing my eyes on the most interesting thing in the room. The blank wall. Yes, I am a genius.

My cell phone rang suddenly playing 'No One' I have never felt such joy before. I turned to the guys guiltily "Sorry, I need to catch this one." I looked at my phone in surprise they have great reception.

"Talk to me."

"Tohru?" it was Caroline, I smiled.

"The one and only." Both Uchiha boys were looking at me now. I was glad that Caroline was talking quietly otherwise I'd be busted.

"Oh thank goodness!" she sounded relieved "Where have you been? I've been trying to catch you for ages but you've always been busy!"

"School got me down."

"I know, I know but I really want to release this before that man does." My eyes narrowed, he had better not…

"Wait a second!" I exclaimed, "You mean he is trying to steal…"

"Yes." Her voice sounded grave "His spy came by the other day and caught us in the middle of work. I'm trying to release this before he does. This is my latest creation. I call it 'The Essence of Purple'.

I raised an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it. "I'm guessing it's purple."

The Uchiha boys were now looking at me with strange looks on their faces. I scowled at them, who invited them into this conversation anyway?

"Yes! It's brilliant I tell you! You will love it! It's in your color!"

"Why is everyone telling me that my color is purple?"

She laughed on the other line "Because it is! So when can I schedule you for?"

"Uh…" I thought hard "Saturday?"

"Okay, how does 4:00 pm sound?"

"Perfect!" I grinned; I would finally get to work with her.

There was a brief pause "Where are you that you couldn't do today?" she asked.

I suddenly grew nervous. The Uchiha's were still looking at me and if I lied they would know. I would have to take a chance. "I'm at the Uchiha mansion."

"NO WAY!" I held the phone away from my ear. "Let me talk to Itachi!" she demanded.

I was dumbstruck "What?"

"Itachi! Let me talk to him!"

"How do you know him?" I asked, still in shock.

"Oh him, it's a long story…" she chuckled "But he is going to be in the shoot this Saturday, I'm showing that men can wear purple too!"

I was frozen. I swallowed "You mean he is…"

"A model! You two will be working together isn't that great? Let me talk to him!" I dropped the phone in shock. Everything was going to hell.

-

-

Lame, short, pointless but who cares? I'm writing for me baby and I say write on! Er… anywayzers I hope that somebody liked it. If not… well… whatever.

**Read and Review please!!!**


	5. Detention and other things

Sudden update due to immense boredom as Mp4 program downloads… -yawn- 

**Disclaimer: If you ask if I own Naruto one more time, I'll send my ninja to kill you!**

"AAAHH! He's looking at me! Hide!"

Anko rolled her eyes at me as I hid under a pile of clothes. This was the third time today. I couldn't help it I was absolutely petrified. Uchiha Itachi was standing a few feet away and would occasionally turn to stare at me. I was afraid that he would recognize me… hence the brilliant hiding places.

"Oh suuuurrreeee…" Anko huffed "He really doesn't notice a moving pile of clothes!"

"Maybe he doesn't!"

I knew that I should've canceled this shoot, but I didn't want to disappoint Caroline anymore. She really needs a celebrity to help carry her lines. I sighed before slowly rising up. Maybe he wouldn't notice me. I mean I looked different from my usual bun-headed self.

To emphasize the 'Essence of Purple' Caroline highlighted my hair purple and gave me lavender contacts. My lips were pale pink and light eyeliner emphasized the size of my eyes. I had to admit, Caroline's makeup artists really know what they're doing.

I was wearing her newest skirt and shirt design which was incredibly sexy. I was definitely going to buy one of these sets once I get the money.

"Tohru! You're needed up front!"

I sighed and mouthed 'wish me luck' to my managed. She rolled her eyes again and pointed. I slowly climbed my way out of the pile and walked towards where I was to pose in front of a simple backdrop. Caroline prefers simple over extravagant since she wants to emphasize her clothes, not the background.

I walked past Itachi who nodded towards me in brief acknowledgement. I gritted my teeth and climbed up. As Caroline and the photographer explained what they expected I kept my gaze on the Uchiha. He didn't seem to recognize me… yet. Maybe I should've chosen a different name. I know Tohru and Tenten are opposites but they start with 't'. In fact, the only reason I chose this name was because I love 'Fruits Basket'.

I posed as directed and kept my gaze intent, making Caroline clap her hands merrily. "Tohru, you do know how to pose!"

I gave her a brief smile before focusing on the camera. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Itachi staring at me with strange intensity.

-

-

"Alright, one more shot!" Caroline shouted "This time I want Tohru and Itachi together. We want this one smoldering and sexy! Can you do that?"

I felt my face turn white. She wanted me… with Itachi. I glanced nervously towards said Uchiha who gave another nod. Apparently his form of communication is head gestures. I turned to Anko who grinned at me and gave me the thumbs up. This was not good.

I stepped up to the small platform, standing only a few inches away from Itachi. He looked down at me with a quirked eyebrow. I felt my cheeks heat up… he was so… hot…

He smirked "Well, it looks like we're stuck."

"Y-yeah…"

He surprised me by reaching a hand out and touching one of my loose locks. He fingered it for a while before brushing his fingers against my cheek. "Don't look so scared… okay?"

I nodded, too numb to do anything else. The Uchiha family was definitely a surprising one. Anko passed out in the background. I grinned and then I had the best shoot of my life.

-

-

Afterwards I was thoroughly interrogated by Anko.

"Oh and when they had him hold you close, I nearly died! What is he like up close? Are his abs as great looking up close as they are in pictures? I don't mean to sound perverted, but I am totally digging that bod!"

I twitched. This conversation was not suitable for young ears. I plugged my ears as she rattled on. I whirled around and came face to face (well sorta, he's taller than me) with Uchiha Itachi himself. Anko clutched her heart and fell into a chair and I blushed.

"He-hello…"

He cupped my chin in his fingers and turned my head from side to side. "You look… familiar." He finally said causing me to panic inwardly.

I stared at him with wide eyes while grateful for the purple contacts. "O-oh…." My voice was shaky "How so?"

"I don't know." He continued to stare; his gaze was seriously making me blush. His dark eyes seemed to bore into mine. It as at that strange moment that I had an even stranger thought '_Why couldn't I have been married to Itachi instead? He would understand me.'_

I blushed even darker at that thought. It was embarrassing but true. Since he was a model he would probably understand my predicament better than anyone else. Instead I was stuck with his prick of a brother. Oh the irony.

Itachi released his grip but continued to stare at me. He closed his eyes and turned around. "The magazines were right…"

I gaped. How DARE he say that about me? Saying that the magazines were right is the lowest form of insult for any celebrity to receive! I was prepared to stomp up to him when he said:

"… you are beautiful."

I felt myself grow a little dizzy so I clung the edge of a table for support my heart beating a million beats per minute. I already know that I'm pretty but to have The Uchiha Itachi say it is enough to make any girl swoon.

Once again I wondered why I couldn't just marry him…

-

-

"Tenten? Hello, are you okay?" Temari waved a hand in front of my face. She frowned in concern "You've been spacing out a lot lately!"

Yeah." Kiba nodded his shaggy head in agreement. He was sitting beside me in class chewing his gum loudly. Our science teacher was dangerously late.

I couldn't blame my friends, I HAD been spacing out a lot. Most of the time it was due to stress but today it was because of my close encounter with Itachi. Yes, the shock lasted for two days.

"Hey look at this!" we all looked up to see Naruto standing over Kiba. It's strange but the two are actually friends.

Kiba leaned forward in his desk lazily "What is it?"

Naruto gave a perverted grin "Pictures."

"Pictures of who?"

"These my friend," he whipped out a fashion magazine dramatically "Are the latest pictures of Tohru." He slapped the magazine on top of Kiba's desk. He immediately began drooling as he flipped through the pages till he found them.

I felt my stomach drop. Those were the photos from when I had to do the 'tiger' pose. My face grew pale as both boys drooled over the pictures.

"Oh my god, she is just too hot!" Naruto cried after swallowing his drool. Ewww.

"I know!" Kiba agreed greedily "I would totally do her!"

Okay that did it. My stomach lurched; I lunged for the door and ran down the hall towards the girls room. Behind me I could hear confused cries of "Tenten?"

Once I finished emptying the contents of my stomach, I rinsed out my mouth and stumbled out the ladies room. In the midst of my stumbling I nearly ran into Hyuga Neji who was suspiciously late for class. I was too tired to say anything smart-alecky so I chose to glare at him and hope that he could interpret.

"What are you doing?"

"Minding my own business." I sneered. Oh yes, I am good.

He opened his mouth to say something when we heard "NARUTO YOU DAMN IDIOT! YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO MIX THEM!" followed by a loud explosion.

Apparently, science class just started.

-

-

When we entered the classroom we were nearly ran over by a crowd of coughing students. I looked past them to see a blackened Naruto holding a broken vial. He grinned at us weakly. "Heh. I'm guessing I wasn't met to mix them."

I slapped my forehead. Naruto was a certifiable moron. I heard a snicker from behind me and noticed that it was Neji.

"What are you laughing at?" I snapped, "He's YOUR idiot science partner."

He stopped mid-laugh as he was slapped by the harsh reality. I smirked triumphantly. Sasuke approached both of us and joined me in smirking at Neji.

"What do you want?" Neji asked a little harshly. I flinched but Sasuke seemed unfazed as always. He shrugged coolly.

"I wanted to talk to Tenten, if you don't mind." The last part was equally harsh. Neji glared but backed up giving us some space.

The younger Uchiha turned to me "My mother wants to know if you'll be available sometime this week. She wanted to spend some time with you."

I blinked in surprise but managed to keep my cool. I shrugged "Um… I'm available on Wednesday…"

"How low." We turned back to Neji who somehow managed to join our conversation. Eavesdropping butthead. "You Uchiha's must desperately want that land."

"This isn't about the land." Sasuke snapped "She wants to spend some time with her, that's all."

Neji seemed to run out of things to say so he resorted with glaring. Oh yeah, real mature. I noticed that glaring seemed to be the craze. The intensity of the glares made me shudder. A boy walked between the two nervously "Um… I need to get my pencil… um…" he burst into tears and ran away.

Thankfully Shikamaru and the gang popped out of nowhere. Temari glomped a glaring Neji and Kiba growled angrily at Sasuke. That seemed to break the glares.

"Tenten you okay?" Shikamaru yawned.

I nodded. Neji quirked an eyebrow "Friends of yours?"

"Her BEST friends!" Temari smacked his head as she backed down "And don't you forget it!"

Neji clutched his sore head and glared at Temari who stuck her tongue out and proclaimed, "I don't care how sexy you are! You don't mess with my best friend! Besides, I have a boyfriend who is tons better than you could ever be!"

That was the first time that I saw Shikamaru openly grin like a moron. Finally. So there we stood. Temari glaring at Neji who alternated between glaring at her and Sasuke who alternated between glaring at Neji, Kiba, and myself who both glared back at him and Neji while Shikamaru grinned like an idiot. –phew-

The tense silence was broken by Kurenai sensei "Detention! Now!"

We all groaned.

-

-

My second detention of the year… I sighed. I was seated between Kiba and Sasuke who glared at each other. Temari, Shikamaru, and Neji sat behind us three. I could hear Neji tapping his foot while Shikamaru was still grinning. I slammed my forehead on the desk, a motion which went unnoticed by the part-time teacher Raidou. He was busy talking to someone on his cell phone.

He hung up and faced us disapprovingly. "Honestly, I expected better from you guys at least. Especially you Sasuke." Sasuke merely grunted.

I wondered how he knew Sasuke.

"Well, just be glad this isn't a week's detention or you'll miss the special event that happens next week." He said teasingly.

"What special event?" Temari asked carefully.

He grinned at us as if he knew a big secret. I groaned this had to be bad. "Well… we're having career day. Tsunade chose several people from various occupations to talk about their jobs and what they went through to get it. We have people from plumbers, to performers, to business men. We even have one very special guest."

This got all of our attention. Even Neji looked interested. Not like I was looking or anything.

"Special guest?" we grumbled. I wondered if we were supposed to talk in detention or not. Maybe Raidou really didn't care. He seemed pretty cool for a weirdo.

He put a finger to his lips secretively "You have to keep it a secret though."

We all nodded in unison, each fully interested. I was curious. Who could this special guest be? Someone from another country? A famous celebrity?

"We're having none other than the famous model Tohru herself come to our school! Tsunade knew her manager's friend from way back and managed to schedule Friday for her to appear." The reactions were mixed. Kiba jumped for joy. Temari started squealing (she really admires Tohru). Shikamaru stopped grinning to yawn. Neji and Sasuke smirked. I jumped up.

"W-wait what? How did you…" I yelled. Why hadn't Anko told me anything? I was going to get that stupid woman.

Raidou shook his head and motioned for us to be quiet. "You really aren't supposed to be talking." He whispered "But we got Tohru coming in."

"E-excuse me!" I cried before running out the door. Raidou called out for me but I didn't listen. I sped down the halls and into a vacant classroom. Once the door was secured shut I whipped out my cell phone and dialed Anko's number.

"Who the hell are you?" she mumbled. I shook my head. She really needs to check her caller id.

"Who do you think?" I snapped "Now do you mind telling me why Tohru is coming to my school next week?"

"Oh!" she sounded vaguely surprised "So you heard, eh? Well consider it payback for getting up close with my Itachi-kun." If this were an anime I would've sweat dropped. I couldn't believe it. HER Itachi-kun? He's 22 and she's 27! I pointed that out but she only scoffed.

"Age doesn't matter when you're in love." She said. I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see it.

"Why did you do that? What if I'm busy or something?"

"You aren't. I cleared your schedule. Besides, it was either that or work with that awful Orochimaru again."

I shuddered. I would rather face career day a thousand times than work with Orochimaru. That man was a real eel. Him and his little creep of an assistant Kabuto. Both men gave me the creeps, if you could call them men.

"But… I just can't… what if they grow suspicious?" I asked.

"Who cares? You're Tohru! Work your magic. Now shut up." She hung up. If she were any other person I would've fired her. But she wasn't. She was Anko, one of my favorite people in the business. If it weren't for her I wouldn't even be in the modeling business. I frowned at my cell phone and flipped it closed.

I was in trouble. In more ways than one "TENTEN!" Raidou slammed the door open "Double detention! Now!"

I sighed. This was definitely not my school year.

-

-

Late that evening I dragged my weary feet to my house. I knocked on the door which was answered by a startled looking Father.

"Where were you?" he asked as he grabbed my arm and guided me inside.

"Detention."

He looked surprised but said nothing as he seated me down carefully. He handed me his cup of tea which I downed gratefully (that rhymed. Well if you kinda squint.) "Tenten… what did you do?"

"Nothing. The teachers are unfair that's all."

He nodded and seated himself beside me. That was one thing I loved about my Father. He wasn't a very nosy person; He would listen to my answers and just go along with them, trusting me the whole way. If only Mother would do the same thing. Unlike Father she's a very nosy person and absolutely has to know every aspect of my life.

I leaned against his shoulder and sighed. If only I could tell him…

-

-

It was Wednesday evening after another glorious day of school and detention… and I was standing outside the Uchiha mansion debating whether to enter or not. I must've stared at the gates for an hour looking like a moron. I stood there so long that even the birds were mistaking me for a new statue. I slapped another bird that tried to land on me.

I finally sucked up my courage and rang the doorbell. I enjoyed the sound of their doorbell. Instead of doing the usual obnoxious 'ding dong' it played a few musical notes like wind chimes. The noise was so soothing that I rung the doorbell again and again. So caught up was I that I didn't realize that the door was already open and that Itachi and Sasuke stood there staring at me like I was stupid.

"Ahem."

I glanced up to see both Uchiha boys. "AAAHHH!!!" I nearly fell off the steps in surprise. Itachi was trying to cover his laughter and Sasuke just looked annoyed. I brushed off my clothes (a clever diversion) as I waited for someone to start talking.

Unfortunately Uchiha are not talking people so we stared at each other. Finally Itachi broke the silence "You're here."

Thank you Captain Obvious.

"Uh… yeah I guess so." That came out stupid.

"Please come in." both boys moved aside to let me in. As I walked past the two I couldn't help but feel intimidated. Any girl would feel intimidated walking between the two. They led me to what I guess to be the living room. I sat down in a modest looking chair and waited.

**Itachi's point of view**

Tenten is now seated on MY favorite chair looking around patiently. When she first came she was ringing the doorbell like a moron. Even Sasuke was annoyed.

This girl is definitely different but in a good way. She has very strange ways and seems to always be hiding something. Take for instance, she keeps on glancing at me and blushing. Not the normal fan girl way but like she knows something… but what? This girl is a strange one alright. She seems vaguely familiar though. She reminds me of… Tohru. That's impossible… this girl is nothing like Tohru.

**Sasuke's point of view**

Why is she looking at Itachi? This is irritating the hell out of me. I cleared my throat but that didn't gain any attention at all. It's not like I want her attention it's just that… she's ignoring me. If I didn't know any better I'd think she knows something…

This girl is so weird. But in an interesting way. I want to know more about her.

**Tenten's point of view**

If they don't stop staring at me I'm going to scream. This day is already going downhill. Just when I thought there was no hope the door opened to reveal a cheerful looking Uchiha Mikoto. I found myself smiling back at her.

"Hello Tenten!" she greeted "I'm sorry that I'm late but I had to answer an important phone call. Are you ready to go shopping?"

I nodded my head eagerly. Anything to get me away from those two guys. Just when things were starting to look up Mikoto had to open her mouth.

"I hope you don't mind but Sasuke's going with us."

"Oh ok- WHAT?"

**End Chapter**

**There I did it! Sorry it took so long… I randomly decided to start two new stories while still continuing this one. I wonder how I'll manage to juggle it all. I hope you guys had an awesome Christmas! I spent mine visiting relatives in Alabama. It was fun to some extent. I was depressed though. My younger cousin got an ipod nano and she doesn't even know what to do with it! I spent the whole vacation showing her how to work it. I almost cried.**

**Please review and have a happy new year!**


	6. Career day really is pointless

Job training and family problems got me down. I won't be able to update that frequently but I WILL still update even if it takes me years. Well hopefully it won't take that long but you get the point –shrugs-

**Disclaimer: Do I really need a disclaimer? I think you guys already know that my name isn't Masashi Kishimoto**

**-**

**-**

It was the day before the day. Tomorrow, I would face the school as Tohru, the famed super model. I wonder how they'd react. More importantly I wondered how I'd get out of there alive.

Shikamaru fell asleep in his locker again so I had to go fish him out. I shook him by the shoulders "C'mon Shikamaru… I'm just as tired as you are but we've got classes to attend. Wake up already."

He leaned back and blinked sleepily. "Troublesome…" he fell into the locker and began snoring. I sighed. This was not my day.

"Why would you be tired?" Temari asked, suddenly appearing beside me. She nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Uh… shopping?" that was the truth. Sort of. Well most of the truth anyway. Shopping with the Uchiha was kind of fun. I had spent most of my time with Mikoto while Sasuke dragged along in the back. At one point she left us alone as she went to check out propane lamps. Surprisingly enough we managed to strike up a conversation. When he wasn't acting emo Sasuke can be pretty human. I can't believe I just said that.

"You? Shopping?" Temari raised her eyebrows doubtfully "Since when do you go shopping?"

Well, actually the shopping trip had been a week ago. I was still emotionally exhausted though. So I guess that counts. Sort of.

"A week ago last Wednesday."

She rolled her eyes. I couldn't blame her. My story was pretty weak. I was actually pretty tired from yelling at Anko all last night. She and I argued about the career day. In the end I still have to attend. She managed to write a fake note for me so I have an excuse to leave school early. Tsunade will have a fit. If there's one thing she likes its career day. If I didn't attend she'd have a heart attack.

"Let's just go." I shouldered my bag and walked on, not caring whether they followed or not. They could stay there all day for all I cared. I had bigger things on my mind than them. I hate saying that but it's true. I'm just way to busy to worry about their opinions right now.

I marched on with my head still in the clouds. A few moments later I ran into a brick wall. Man they have a lot of those around. I looked up at my wall which turned out to be a person. That person turned out to be Hyuga Neji. The last person I wanted to see.

"Tenten." He said stoically.

I glared "Beat it."

I sidestepped to get out of the way but he easily repeated my actions, blocking my path once more. "I said beat it!" I was getting impatient now.

He smirked as if seeing me flustered were somehow amusing. I continued my powerful glaring. He continued doing that smirk which would cause even the calmest of girls to get red faced.

"What do you want?" I sighed impatiently while praying that he'd get struck by lightening.

No lightening bolts yet. Darn. "I want to talk to you."

"About?"

"My uncle wishes for you to visit us sometime soon. I came to set up a time and date."

"Ewww! A date! I don't want to date you!"

He rubbed his forehead tiredly. "I meant as in a preset day."

"Oh. That'd make sense." I chuckled nervously. He always had a way of making me feel… I don't know…nervous? Something like that. I stared up into his gray eyes. If you stare hard enough you could see a small hint of lavender behind them. It's really captivating…

"-alright?"

"Huh?" I blinked. I must've gotten lost in his… it sounds gross just thinking about it. I smacked myself on the head "Sorry. Brain freeze."

It was Neji's turn to roll his eyes. It seems that people like doing that around me. That and glaring. I looked up at him expectantly.

"Never mind." He mumbled "We'll worry about it later. Besides, aren't you late for class?" he said with a grin.

My eyes bugged out. He was right. "CRAP!" I ran off with a strange sound ringing in my ears… the sound of The Hyuga Neji laughing.

-

-

I got home rather late that evening. I just ended my detention term and was back to being 'friends' with my teachers. Well actually most of them don't like me. I guess it's the whole 'tomboy who looks like she doesn't care' thing. They really don't like my look. I don't see why. I usually wear a casual t-shirt with a heartwarming saying such as 'bite me' or Happy Bunny shirts.

"Honey? Is that you?" My mother called from the kitchen. I could hear clanging from inside which let me know that she was still cooking. I untied my sneakers.

"Yeah!"

She came out of the kitchen, her normally neat hair in disarray and her apron slightly charred at the front. "Good! You can help me out!"

I had a feeling that I really didn't want to be in there with her. "I have lots of homework." I lied. I'd been doing a lot of that lately.

"Please?" she pleaded.

I hated leaving her in her time of need but this was important. I had to make sure that everything was absolutely perfect for career day. She'd understand. Besides, I've been giving them the majority of my paycheck… in little pieces so that they wouldn't get suspicious. She could cut me a little slack.

"Let me do my homework and I'll handle dinner this weekend."

Her eyes filled with hope "Is that a promise?"

"Yeah."

-

-

"You look tired." Temari commented blatantly as the four of us marched through the school halls. She shoved a scrawny kid aside as if it were nothing. I grinned. Her attitude is so cool. I guess that's what drew me to her; you know that whole 'I don't care what you think' attitude.

"I am tired." I responded weakly. I had spent the whole night arguing with Anko. She wanted me to spend part of the school day here so that I could discover when I was supposed to speak. Apparently Career Day has become so big that all students are going to attend and it will be held in the auditorium. There are going to be nine other speakers and I need to discover which number I am. Talk about troublesome.

"So why are you tired?" Kiba jogged up so that he came into my line of view. His dark eyes were filled with concern. I didn't know what to say. '_IMPROVISE!'_

"M-my parents…their relatives are" I scanned my brain desperately as my friends leaned in "…coming over! THAT'S RIGHT! THEY'RE COMING OVER!" I shouted, scaring the crap out of all three of them.

"Geez, say it don't spray it." Shikamaru rubbed his cheek irately.

I smiled sheepishly and turned to Kiba who was lying on the floor, clutching his head. "I think I'm deaf."

Laughing, Temari caught my wrist and dragged me away from the boys. She snatched a girl's soda and guzzled it down as she walked by. "HEY!" the girl shrieked. I smirked Temari will always be Temari.

When we finally reached a place of privacy she slammed me against the wall. "WHAT?"

"What's going on." She hissed, her dark green eyes serious.

"What do you mean?" I asked, baffled by her strangeness. She sure has been moody lately.

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Tenten. First you're busy all the time, and next you're always with either Uchiha or Hyuga. They never noticed you before. NEVER! Now you're tired and disappearing on us. Don't you remember Wednesday? All you can eat Ramen day? You've been acting strangely. So tell me the truth, where have you been?"

She's more perceptive than I thought her to be. If she figured this out then I guess Shikamaru did too. I stared back at her as my mind slowly formulated a plan. Come on brain hurry up! I gritted my teeth.

"Look," I sighed, "Class is about to st-"

"Don't use that class crap on me!" she shouted into my face, drawing the attention of the janitor. He stared at us with a strange expression.

"Buzz off!" Temari growled. The man scurried away.

She turned back to me. I could feel the full power of her wrath. I shirked. "Listen, I do have relatives coming over! They're on their way to Suna to spend the weekend with my cousin Miki. They just want to stop by and see they're little baby Tenten, okay."

"Screw the relatives. What the hell has been going on with you lately? I'm talking about the past few months."

Just as I was running out of escapes one walked by. "Neji!" I gasped.

He turned around, surprised. Kami he is gorgeous… no bad Tenten! Must not think about the enemy! Since when did I start thinking like this anyway?

"Tenten?" I felt so relieved to hear his voice. If Temari didn't have me pinned to the wall by the throat, I would've hugged him. I might still…

"Help?"

He rushed forward and pulled Temari away from me. I doubled over as I gasped for breath. Oxygen, sweet oxygen. I tilted my head up to see Temari and Neji involved in a hateful staring match.

Neji broke the contact first to look at me "What happened?" he demanded.

I heard the bell ring and made a run for it. I could hear both of them shouting my name in the background but I kept on running. Things were getting way too complicated…

-

-

"I am such a jerk." I whined to no one in particular. My manager, Anko smacked the back of my head.

"Stop whining already and put this on!" everything went dark as Anko draped a skirt over my head. I yanked it off and glared at her. "Doesn't anyone care about my feelings anymore?"

"No."

I sighed and stormed off which wasn't very far. A friend of hers let us borrow his house which was only two blocks down from the school. The house was a small white ranch that was filled with cats. Apparently, Anko's friend had a crush on cats. I counted sixteen cats since I arrived and more are still appearing!

I slammed the door to the small bathroom and got changed into a pale yellow peasant top with a matching light tan skirt. I slipped (more like squeezed) into simple white sandals and tied a dark brown belt around my waist. I then realized how much weight I've gained since I stopped working out. I might need to call my personal trainer soon. I swung the door open and nearly ran into Anko who was holding a box in her hands.

I raised an eyebrow. She shoved it into my hands and walked off. Shrugging, I opened it to reveal a lovely jewelry set. The earrings were dangling with little white gold stars, small diamonds shone from the tips. The necklace was a delicate chain of the same color with the Kanji for Love on it. (I forget what they're called. Bite me.)

Three white gold bangles lay in the bottom of the case. I smiled. Anko may be obnoxious and bad tempered but she sure knows how to make an outfit. She came in a few minutes later with her bag of hair stuff.

"You ready?" she asked, waving the curling iron threateningly.

"Oh yeah," I grinned, "I was born ready."

She laughed and began combing my hair.

-

-

When we were 100 done I stepped out of the bathroom and headed into the master bedroom. After shoving a few cats aside I opened the closet door and looked at myself in the full length mirror attached to the door.

Anko really knew what she was doing. I hardly recognized myself. The transformation was complete I was Tohru once more. My long brown hair cascaded around my shoulders in soft curls. The occasional rhinestone barrette kept most of my bangs out of my face. Light lip gloss kept my lips moist and eyeliner accentuated the color of my eyes (I was wearing my purple contacts again). I hated to say this but I was beautiful.

I turned to Anko who was grinning cockily. She knew that she did a good job. I smiled. "Thank you. It looks great." I said sincerely.

"Don't I always make you look great?" she said arrogantly "C'mon, you've got thirty minutes till career day starts. We'd better make our big debut."

Laughing and kicking cats aside, I followed her out the house and into her car.

-

-

Once inside Konoha high, teachers and members of the faculty surrounded me. Each of which made a big deal about smuggling me into the cafeteria. I laughed as Kakashi-sensei tried to help out. Who would've thought that the world's worst teacher would be so in touch with modern culture? Or maybe he was more in touch with Anko, who he couldn't keep his visible eye off. She noticed but seemed to be pleased with the extra attention. Oh well, old people will be old people.

I followed them backstage of the auditorium. It was odd, because the last time I was here I was getting ready for my class's presentation of 'Romeo and Juliet'. I played a tree.

I caught sight of some of the other speakers. Surprisingly, one of them was Hyuga Hiashi. He caught sight of me and smiled kindly. "So, this is the world famous Tohru. What a pleasure."

I smiled charmingly while wondering how long he'd stay blind to my identity. Hyuga's are fabled for having beyond perfect vision. "The pleasure is all mine." I made a big deal of sizing him up. He wore a dark blue business suit and fancy black shoes. I believe they're from Caroline's French line. "You're more handsome in person! I love this outfit… Caroline Rigsby is it not?"

He was putty in my hands. He smiled back at me "Thank you, and yes it is. I assume you're quite familiar with her line?"

"Yes, Caroline is a dear friend of mine. I've modeled for her before. She's a wonderful talent, it's too bad that the rest of the world doesn't realize this yet."

He nodded again and said a polite goodbye before returning to a teacher who began giving him the run-through. It looked like this was going to be a 'Who's who? In Hollywood instead of Career day. I saw a man I identified as a plumber, a struggling comedian, a pet store owner, a computer technician, Hyuga Hiashi, a man who worked for NASA, a popular writer, a woman who ran a line of day cares, and… OROCHIMARU?!?

The snake-like man came up to me with a sneaky smile on his face. "Hello Tohru…" he practically purred, which sounded wrong because men aren't supposed to purr.

"Orochimaru." I said bluntly, not even attempting to disguise my obvious disgust for the creep.

"It's so wonderful seeing you again. How have you been?"

"Fine."

He smiled his creepy smile at me. I shuddered. He reached his pale hand out and stroked one of my locks. "You've really grown." He commented.

"Yeah," I shrugged "That happens."

He chuckled that creepy chuckle. I can't help it everything about him is creepy. Sometimes I think he'd look better in jail, or with his head under a truck. "How is Anko doing?"

"She's fine." A voice behind me said. I turned to see Anko glaring at the snake-obsessed man. His creepy smile widened creepily. Okay, enough with the creepy.

"Anko, my dearest it's been too long."

"And unfortunately not long enough." She snorted, looking at him with obvious disdain.

"Now, now…" he said soothingly, his arms outstretched in a welcoming gesture. "What's with all the hostility? Don't you care about your old teacher anymore?"

"No."

Anko used to train under Orochimaru. As much as we hate to admit it, without his training she would've never come to where she is today as a top model and current manager. I glanced at her and saw nothing but disgust in her dark eyes. That's my Anko.

"Now go away." She flipped her hand at him as though he were no more than an insect. With her other hand she grabbed my arm and dragged me to the other side of the room. We stayed there until it was my turn to speak.

-

-

Hiashi came from in front of the curtain as applause followed him. A small smile was on his face. He nodded towards me "You're next."

I forced a shaky smile. The truth was I was still nervous about speaking to the entire student body that treated me like a social pariah. I took a deep breath and pushed aside the curtain. Almost instantly I was greeted by a wave of applause and wolf whistles.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S TOHRU! AAAHHHH!!!" Haruno Sakura, one of the popular girls, screamed wildly. Her friend Yamanaka Ino joined in her screaming. Well, pretty much the whole student body was screaming right now. Several students tried to climb on stage but thankfully Kakashi tackled them before they could reach me.

I approached the mike nervously. I cleared my throat "Hello."

More screaming. I could see Kiba shouting as enthusiastically as the others. Uzumaki Naruto was trying to jump on Sasuke's back to get a better view of me. Temari was cheering but not with that much enthusiasm. I guess she was still upset about what happened earlier.

"What's going on?" I asked cheerfully, remembering to smile gorgeously. "Well, your awesome principal asked me to speak today, and how could I refuse someone like her? Let's give Tsunade a hand!"

The student body clapped and cheered for her more than they ever did in her entire career. She looked pleased and slightly embarrassed.

"Well, like the others before me, I'm going to talk on my career." I said, "Okay, um… how many of you are considering a career in modeling?" Several hands went up including those of Sakura and Ino. Typical.

"Okay," I said cheerfully "That's quite a few of you. Now, modeling isn't like all other careers. Unlike most jobs which you can attain by hard work and effort, modeling is a talent that you either have or don't. You could be the prettiest girl in your school but if you're not photogenic then you're out. You also have to be a certain height and weight. Luckily, I was just that."

"Unlike most things that people say, modeling is an art. Once you actually start, then you can accomplish your goals by hard work. It's not just something for photogenic, attractive bimbos. We models work hard to accomplish those photos which grace your magazines and billboards. Unfortunately, we don't do much for the community. So if you're all for community work and saving the world, then modeling is not your passion." I saw a few frowns. Ah well, I'm only telling like it is.

"Now, how did I get where I was today?" I asked aloud, striking a thinking pose while keeping my eyes wide and innocent. Almost all the guys were drooling. I had them in my claws. "Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"

Several jaws dropped. "I entered a contest jokingly as a way to gain money. Unlike the other judges, Anko saw talent in me and took me in as he personal assignment. Without her, I would've never gotten where I am today. She sacrificed a lot just to make my career work, and that's what most careers are about. Sacrifices."

"In order to maintain this job I had to make several sacrifices. I'm not just talking about favorite foods…which I still miss." I half-joked "I don't get to spend that much time with my friends." For some reason, my gaze drew to Temari who was staring at me carefully. "I don't get much free time or privacy. I pretty much had to sell my soul to the devil for all of this. I believe that there is no good career in the world that doesn't recquire sacrifices and hard work."

"The biggest thing of course is having faith. You have to believe in yourself. Sometimes, you even have to push others aside. Because if you don't watch out for yourself no one else will. So have faith in your abilities, you'll be surprised how far you can go."

"So… any questions?" I said after taking a breath. My speech was pretty long and pointless but I guess it got to them because a lot were staring down thoughtfully. Several hands rose. I pointed to a boy in the corner. "Yes?"

"Will you marry me?"

I stared at him blankly before turning to the next hand.

"Will you go out with me?" another guy.

This time I picked out a girl "Would you say that all your work is worth it?" she asked so quietly that I had to strain to hear her.

"Yes I would say it is because modeling is my passion. If something isn't your passion, then it will never be worth it to you." I said honestly.

She smiled and nodded, obviously satisfied by my answer. I pointed to Sakura "You with the pink hair."

"Do you think I'm model material?" she flipped her pink tresses over her shoulder.

"Depends." I resisted the urge to shrug and merely smiled instead "You're very beautiful but are you very photogenic? Are you the right height? That's what these scouts are looking for."

She bit her lip and nodded. I pointed to another hand and blurted out before I realized "Temari?"

She opened her mouth to ask a question but stopped, a look of shock across her features. Oh my god, did I just say her name? Quick find an excuse!

"Your name is Temari isn't it?"

"H-how'd you know my name?" she stammered.

I smiled nonchalantly. Okay that's one point for keeping my cool. "I heard someone shout your name and it stuck with me. It's a very nice name, very exotic" It was true, I remembered Naruto shouting at her asking about me.

She blushed "U-um… do you… what's your life like? Do you live in a mansion? No one knows where you live or much about you."

Still trying to sound natural, I answered, "No, I actually live in a normal house. I prefer living in secrecy. It gives me a bigger sense of privacy. Believe it or not, I'm just a normal teenager like you all. I just want to live a normal life."

"But why?" Ino blurted "You're a freakin' celebrity!"

My gaze saddened as she yelled that. I thought of all the times I had to skip out on my friends for the sake of modeling. I thought of the lie I was living, and how very few people knew my secret. I thought of all the lies I told my parents.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be."

-

-

Okay so it ended on a somber note, bite me. I'm emotionally drained, exhausted beyond belief, depressed, and my family is falling apart so please no criticism right now. However, through it all I will continue writing because writing is my passion. I love all of my reviewers. You guys mean a whole lot to me.

**Oh yeah, and for this fic I definitely will take any suggestions you guys have to offer. I love receiving suggestions because they make me feel stupid and excited at the same time. Most of the time I'm like "why didn't I think of that?" so suggest away!**


	7. Sundown

Next chapter of cliché, because you guys reviewed so nicely on the other one. Thanks for the reviews by the way… they made me feel good. And speaking of feeling good, life is actually looking up for me!

**Disclaimer: Do we have to go through this every time?**

**-**

**-**

Panting heavily, I leaned against the wall frame once my 'speech' was done. Talk about a waste of fifteen minutes. I really didn't say anything, and only accomplished answering a few pointless questions. "No I will not marry you." "Yes, my hair is real."

I glanced over at Hiashi who was talking in hushed tones to one of the teachers. She nodded and waved farewell as he left. I ran after him.

"You're leaving?"

He turned to me, obviously surprised with my talking to him. "Yes, I have some business to attend to."

I watched him leave and sighed. He was the only person in this room that I was vaguely familiar with… excluding Orochimaru but he hardly counts as a person. He's more of a gremlin.

Anko ran up to me with a broad grin on her face. "Great job kiddo! You used up your fifteen minutes, and you didn't give out too personal of information!" she wrapped an arm around my shoulder in a strangely familiar gesture "You were great!"

I shrugged. "I guess so."

She patted my head kindly and leaned her face closer to mine. "No one recognized you right?" she whispered secretively, her eyes shifting from left to right. Sometimes she takes this secretiveness a little too seriously. It's like she needed an excuse to play secret agent or something.

"No."

She sighed in relief "Good." After giving me a very unnecessary pat on the back, she sauntered towards the doorway…not before flipping Orochimaru off. I smirked; Anko is the coolest manager ever.

-

-

Career day had pulled to a stop and my manager was no where to be seen! Where was that clown anyway? I found myself diving into the janitor's closet again as a small group of students walked by. I peered through the cracks. It was Sakura and her posse of popular girls. They were all giggling and exclaiming over how amazing it was that THE Tohru came to their school. I grinned I was pretty cool.

Once they passed I stepped out of the closet again, fully expecting for Anko to show up and give me a ride home. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. I waited, and waited, and for a change of pace I waited even more.

A low growl escaped my throat. What was wrong with her? This woman was driving me absolutely insane. Just when things couldn't get any worse Temari showed up.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, her jaw practically hitting the floor "It's Tohru!" she rushed towards me like an elephant on speed. I shut my eyes tight, awaiting impact. Apparently, her brakes were tuned because she halted exactly one inch away from me.

"I'm your biggest fan! I loved your whole underdog story! I totally root for the underdog! You're an awesome model! Can I have your autograph?" she said all of that within 2.1 seconds. I blinked at her in surprise. C'mon you would too if your best friend asked for your autograph.

I continued to stare at her blankly as I slowly reached for a pen. "Alright…" I said, trying to keep my cool. I had to remain distant as possible otherwise she would recognize me. We weren't best friends for nothing.

"Temari right?"

"AAHHH!!!" Temari squealed like a fan girl "I still can't believe you know my name! That totally made my day!"

"…right… how do you spell it?"

"T.E.M.A.R.I." she leaned over making sure that I spelled it correctly. Her eyebrows furrowed as she caught sight of my handwriting. "You know, your handwriting is a lot like my best friend Tenten's."

My whole body froze. Play it cool, just keep calm… "Really?" I asked, with all the air and grace of a rich noble. Or a poseur. Who cares?

Temari nodded, looking for all the world like a puppy dog. "Yeah! Could you write one for her too?"

"Where is she?" I asked sounding slightly bored while I re-wrote a little message and my name. I glanced up to see her give me a saddened look.

"I don't know. She's been really busy lately."

"Oh? That's too bad." I said condescendingly. I sounded perfect. I could've hugged myself, except for the fact that that would've looked really weird. "Send her my best."

Temari smiled so sincerely that I almost blew my secret right there. She really cared about getting me this autograph. I wanted to cry so badly.

"Thanks. I'm not sure if she'll be too crazy about it though." She smiled at the autograph.

"Why not?" I breathed heavily, hoping that Anko would appear around the corner and get me out of here.

"She's not really a big fan. She doesn't like an celebrities really." Temari's smile turned to a rueful one as she carefully pocketed both sheets of paper. "I think she'd like you though."

"Really?"

She nodded "Yeah."

-

-

An hours later after I finally got Temari off my back I heard the footsteps of a single person walking down the hall towards me. I stiffened in panic and dove into the janitor's closet. The person stopped right outside of the janitor's closet and knocked.

I held my breath. After a few moments of waiting I gave a tentative "h-hello?"

"Get out."

My whole body froze. I knew that voice. "Make me!" I said trying to sound brave.

The door swung open and I came face to face with HIM. Hyuga Neji. He smirked down at me "Looks like I made you."

"Why did you want me to get out anyway? It's not like you're a janitor or something!"

"How would you know?" I froze again. Once again I was giving out way too much information. I reminded myself that Tohru had no reason to be angry with Neji. Tohru was just a model trying to locate her lazy manager.

I smiled up at him "For one thing you're way too cute to be a janitor. Secondly you're Hyuga Neji. Everyone knows Hyuga Neji."

He looked as though he were amused. Glancing behind him he muttered "Is that so?"

"Yup!" I made a 'V' for victory with my fingers. I hope that I looked preppy, cute, and cheerful. That would definitely throw old pretty boy off my trail.

Neji coughed out a laugh and grabbed my extended arm. I blinked up at him as he pulled me out the closet. "What was that for?" I demanded huffily, instantly forgetting my latest resolution.

"The janitor is a pervert. If he found a girl like you in his closet he'd no doubt-"

"I'M NOT LISTENING!" I shouted, plugging my ears.

He stared down at me with that amused look on his face again. His eyes were really gray. Wow, they're so pretty… "Come on."

I unplugged my ears "Where?"

"Your manager left you over three hours ago."

"WHAT?"

Looking amused was definitely a good look for Neji. It made him look less creepy and gave his gray eyes an almost kindly look. As Tohru, I could openly say that he was handsome. As myself however, he was still a booger-brain.

"I said she left over three hours ago." Neji sighed impatiently "She rode off with Kakashi-sensei."

"Wait!" I cried, it wasn't like he was going or anything, but this was all such a shock to me. "Anko and Kakashi?"

He raised an eyebrow and began walking. I hurried to match his pace "You know Kakashi-sensei?" he questioned.

"Uh… no. I just think the names sound funny together. That's all!" Phew. That was a close one. Could I be any stupider?

He nodded "I see."

We walked the long length of the empty hallway in silence. It was so strange seeing my school like this. Usually it's all noisy and crowded. The silence was definitely eerie. I glanced up at Neji, speaking of things eerie.

"So," I said in a weak attempt to break the silence "Where are we going?"

"To my car."

"Oh God." I muttered without realizing it. The look he sent me let me know that he had heard my comment. My cheeks turned red in embarrassment. I swear even Naruto could do a better job at hiding his identity than me. What was wrong with me? I mean, usually I'm good at hiding things. However, standing here with Neji things suddenly just blurt out.

"Hm?" It wasn't much of a statement, but the way he looked at me meant he wanted me to elaborate.

I sighed. I guess I could tell him the truth just this once "Sorry, it just sounds so…cliché."

"Cliché?" he raised an eyebrow once more.

"Well, you know how things go in movies or books. This is one of those scenes you'd find there. You know, the whole 'guy giving the girl a ride' scene? Its just so cliché!"

"And Cliché is bad?" he didn't look amused this time, just intrigued. I guess intrigued is a big step from having him laugh at my every other word. I think.

"Well, yeah!" I blurted out "That's why I can't stand watching most movies! It's like they follow a certain rulebook for cheesy romantic scenes!"

Neji looked amused again. So much for graduating. I guess I'd always be his personal little laughing stock "So you find this romantic?"

I blushed again. It's funny how you can tell when you blush, because you just feel your cheeks grow warm and you think _' oh god I'm blushing! I hope no one notices!'_ Except I could tell he noticed because his amused look turned into a smirk.

"Not really…" I mumbled, hiding my face with a curtain of hair. Thank goodness for long hair. I don't know how I would've survived without it. "It's just like something you'd read out of an overrated book, or see out of those cheesy chick flicks."

"You don't like chick flicks?" he looked surprised.

"No. Why? Do you?" I said feeling myself start to laugh. Neji and chick flicks. 100 laughable.

"No." he said quickly, a little too quickly. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. There sure has been a lot of eyebrow raising around here… along with glaring. He pushed open the door for me.

"Well," I said resolutely "There you have it! I just hate it that's all! So if you do anything around me, make sure it's not cliché otherwise I just might puke."

"Cliché equals puke. Got it." He grinned. I nearly fainted. He GRINNED? Neji never grins! The closest thing I've seen to grinning from him was when he threatened Rock Lee's life through his teeth. Whoa, scary.

I grinned back. I forced myself to remember that Tohru doesn't know that he never grins. Tohru doesn't know anything about him. I shook my head as I followed him across the parking lot towards his car. Wait…

"Don't you have a limo?" I said before realizing what I was doing.

He stared at me in surprise. "Yes…"

"I mean, doesn't everybody use a limo?"

"You don't." he said abruptly. I stared at him for a moment before realizing it was true. I had arrived in Anko's car, not a fancy limousine as Hyuga Hiashi had. Wow, try saying that three times fast.

I shrugged carelessly as he opened the passenger door for me. It looks like chivalry isn't dead after all. I was momentarily impressed before realizing something "That was cliché'." I pointed out.

He stopped in his tracks to give me a puzzled look. After a second it dawned on him. "Oh," he nodded "Sorry. My mistake."

"Yeah," I grinned, "I know. That's why I corrected you."

He gave a smirk as he climbed into the driver seat and revved the engine up "Where to, I mean, where do you live?"

Oh sweet Kami-sama! I couldn't direct him to my house! What if he recognizes my parents, or my parents realize that this isn't their daughter! Oh why hadn't I realized that before! Instead of marching around like an angry drill sergeant, I should've gotten changed into my normal clothes! I had to think of something and fast!

"Well…" I began slowly, my mind racing the whole time. I could only depend on my new lying ability to carry me through "Let's not go home yet." I stated firmly as he pulled out of the parking lot. He stopped short at a stop sign even though there were no cars passing.

"What?"

"Come on," I grabbed his arm playfully "The night is still young! Have you ever just said 'screw it' and done something that you wanted to do?"

He shook his head mutely. He probably was still shocked by my sudden outburst.

"Alright then." I said, my grin growing even broader. It's funny but for once I wasn't lying. I didn't want to go home and face my usual duties. Not yet. "Let's do something fun!"

-

-

(Neji's point of view)

As I drove down the road all I could think was how strange this Tohru girl was. In magazines I would read about what a sweet or charming person she was. I never imagined that she would be so…wild. She laughed and chattered the whole way towards her mystery destination.

"Okay turn left at the stop light!" she yelled suddenly.

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye before pulling into the left lane. She was so care free, so very amusing. She was definitely different than anyone could've imagined. It was very strange, but for the first time in years I actually felt comfortable with a girl. Most girls were well…you know. For the first time it was like a girl was seeing me for who I was and not for the millionaire they saw on TV. It was such a refreshing change that I suddenly realized that I didn't want this night to end.

"Here we are!" she chirped, her violet eyes lit up in excitement.

"Sundown." I read the neon sign aloud. I couldn't keep the shock out of my voice. I could hear the thumping bass from here. She was taking me clubbing? I glanced toward her warily but she seemed to know what she was doing since she jumped out of the car and stretched.

Tohru turned to me with a grin "It's been a while since I've been clubbing."

"Clubbing?"

Hyuga's do not go clubbing. Hyuga's are a respectable part of the community and play their part by… oh screw the rules. This time I was the one jogging to catch up with her. Her face was alight in excitement.

"Are you even old enough to go clubbing?" I asked doubtfully. I knew I sounded like a square, but the last thing I wanted was to be on the front page of a newspaper again.

She doubled over with laugher. I stared at her impatiently. Her laughter was drawing the attention of a couple who breezed into the club. I could hear the pounding music already. "Besides, isn't it kind of early?" the sun was setting.

"I know!" she laughed "Isn't that great? This club opens as soon as the sun starts going down!"

Well, it kind of made sense once you read the name which as flashing in neon lights. I waited for her to finish laughing to fix her with my best glare. That seemed to amuse her even more "We could get caught."

"What are you? The prophet of doom?" she cackled at her own joke as we approached the doorway.

This was it. The guard at the door would realize we're minors and send us flying. I shut my eyes.

"Welcome Tohru-san," the female guard greeted warmly "it's been a while since I last saw you. How have you been?"

"Quiet well, and you?" she asked with equal warmness. I stared at them in surprise. What, WHAT?

"Good as ever. I see Anko-san is not with you today."

Tohru gave a sad face "Yeah, I know. She ran off with some guy instead. This is Hyuga Neji. Neji this is Haku-kun."

I extended my hand calmly. The guard stared down at my extended limb before shaking my hand. Well scratch that, it was more like squeezing. I felt my bones pop. Tohru smiled at both of us. She obviously never shook hands with her before. I realized that the handshake was stronger than I thought it'd be. It was almost manly… Wait, what Haku a guy?

"Well, I'll see you later Haku-dear. I have to go and see if Hyuga's are as good of dancers as they are business men. Ta ta darling!" she spoke with sophistication that I would've never thought she was capable of. She almost sounded like on of those 1950's actresses with the cheesy accents.

She noticed my surprised stare and grinned again. She was a very smiley person. I can't believe I just said smiley "What?"

"How did you…"

"Connections dear, connections." She patted my cheek and grinned impishly. I would be lying if I said that my cheek didn't tingle even after she removed her hand.

Shaking all excess thoughts aside, I followed the confident female inside and onto the dance floor.

-

-

(Tenten's POV)

I sighed heavily as I collapsed into the passenger seat of Neji's car. It was nine o' clock. Time goes by when you're having the time of you life. At least I was.

When we got into the club, Neji looked like a deer caught in headlights. A very attractive dear with amazing gray eyes. Wait, bad thoughts!

I dragged him out onto the floor and he was pretty stiff at first. He kept and grumbling under his breath and trying to stalk out. I finally pulled him close and unbuttoned his first two buttons.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, catching my hand in his.

"I'm making you look a little less like a schoolboy and more like someone who knows what he's doing." I rolled my eyes and let him be.

"So why do I have to strip?"

I rolled my eyes again. It was almost adorable how he didn't know what he was doing "I'm not stripping you! I'm just making you look a little looser. That's all."

"So why aren't you doing that?" he seethed, obviously upset with the prospect of baring any skin. Sheesh, who knew this guy was such a Quaker.

"Duh, I'm modest!" I clicked my tongue at him "Look, if you think for one second that I want to sleep with you…"

He looked absolutely horrified. My line was going to end with 'you're wrong' but seeing his expression made me grin, "You're right."

He yelped and stalked off, leaving me to laugh my butt off. Later I chased him down and told him I just wanted to see the expression on his face. Neji didn't seem to take that very well. Ewww, like I would ever sleep with him.

He attracted a lot of females that night, despite his school uniform. They apparently thought it was something of a role play for him, you know how some people dress like cowboys when they go clubbing. It seemed to be working; he was drawing older women to him like flies to honey. I grinned as he kept on trying to fend them off.

We would take breaks only to get a glass of water before dancing again. Sometimes we would dance with other people, but we stayed together. We didn't get any drinks since Zabuza wouldn't allow it. It was bad enough that he allowed me in, but to serve a minor alcohol would get him behind bars.

The second time Neji and I danced he was a lot looser and seemed to be enjoying himself. Laughing aloud, I let him lead in several of the dances. It was strange but whenever a guy came up to use a pickup line, he was right there by my side sending them away with his evil glare. I would give him a questioning look but he would shrug it off or drag me out onto the dance floor.

That was probably the most fun I'd had in ages. I laughed again as Neji plopped down beside me. He too had a grin on his face.

"Well?" I prompted as I buckled myself in (safety first!)

"That was…" he paused to search for the right words "crazy. It felt so strange to just let loose like that. It was fun." He finished with a smile directed at me.

I felt my cheeks heat up and quickly turned away from him, using my magical curtain of hair. "Well that's good. Let's go."

I directed him to Anko's friend's house. I figured that she would be generous and give me a ride to my real home. "Is this your house?" Neji asked as he pulled to a stop.

"No. It's a friend's house." I said feeling almost relieved that I wasn't lying again "I have to get some of my stuff."

He nodded slowly and released his hold on the steering wheel "Do you want me to wait for you."

I shook my head and grinned rather weakly "No it's fine. Anko will drive me home. She owes me." I finished with a heated glare directed at the house. If glares could kill, that house would've burst into flames by now.

"I see…" he said hesitantly.

I gave him another smile "Well, I guess this is it." My voice came out weaker than I thought it would "I had a great time with you Neji."

Neji turned to me, his gaze was very focused "Will I ever see you again?"

I 'tsked' at him "Cliché." I pointed out.

He smirked and nodded once more "Sorry."

"You're forgiven." I said quickly "And yes, I'll probably meet you again soon. Give me your cell number."

I don't know what drove me to do that. I silently berated myself as he quickly jotted it down on a piece of napkin. We kinda stopped by McDonald's on the way out. Fast food! Scandalous!

He passed me the piece of napkin and I prepared to get out when he grabbed my wrist. I rolled my eyes inwardly, yet another cliché moment…but I would let this one pass. I turned back to him "Yes?"

For the first time since I've known him Neji looked almost vulnerable. His eyes were no longer an icy gray; instead they were uncertain "I just wanted to say…thanks."

I gave him a sincere smile "No problem. I had a great time anyway. I'll call you okay?"

He nodded mutely as I climbed out the car and shut the door gently. I sauntered over to the house and rung the doorbell. Anko answered the door and as I stepped in all I could think was _'This is crazy… this is absolutely insane. There is no way that I like the Hyuga Neji.'_

But as soon as I glanced back and saw him give me a brief wave, I suddenly felt opposite. "Oh God…" I muttered as I slowly closed the door.

"What is it?" Anko asked, sounding somewhat concerned. Chyeah, if she really cared she wouldn't have ditched me at the school.

"I don't know…" I said weakly "I really don't know…"

-

-

**End Chapter**

**There! To make up for taking forever I gave you guys a long chapter! You'd better appreciate it –death glare-**

**Please R&R!!!**


	8. Uchiha really are troublesome

Hi, first of all I would like to wish you all a Happy late Nikki Day! (my b-day was yesterday. Woot! I got the cutest blouse in the world) Secondarily, some of you had guessed that this fic was going to be a NejiTen…well all I can do is shrug. It's going to kinda bounce between; after all there is a REASON why I didn't pre-ordain the pairing. I think the pairing will be decided by a popularity vote.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Duh.**

**-**

**-**

It was a BEAUTIFUL morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the dogs were barking, and I was in a wonderful mood. I bounced out of bed and skipped down the stairs while humming 'Good Morning' from the movie 'Singing In The Rain'.

My parents exchanged a worried glance. I just smiled brightly at them as I poured myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. You can never be too careful when it comes to luck. I even wore a horseshoe necklace today with my dark blue tank top and jeans. Besides my depressing attire, I was the very image of sunshine. I even considered wearing my hair down, but then Temari would accuse me of blasphemy.

"Are you feeling alright?" Mom asked after a period of silence.

"Never better!" I chirped. God, I just chirped didn't I? I sound like a freaking cheerleader, or like I drank Red Bull for breakfast. Dang… "Why?"

My Mom stirred her tea a little too quickly as she eyeballed me "No reason…"

"Well, I'd best brush my teeth and be out! I don't want to be late for school do I?" I grinned.

This time it was my Father who looked shocked. He nodded his head numbly as I skipped back up the stairs. I swear I even saw visions of rainbows and butterflies.

Today was going to be a marvelous day. I could feel it. Either that or I really did drink Red Bull.

-

-

"Are you high or something?" were Temari's first words to me that morning. Judging from the faces of my fellow students, I could tell that she wasn't the only one thinking that.

I smiled brightly "Yes! I'm high off of living! I LOVE LIFE!" I yelled.

Some freshman ran off crying. I guess my mood did frighten him. It was only two months ago that I dumped my ice cream down his pants. Ah, good times…

"Something's wrong with her." Shikamaru grumbled as crumbs sprayed everywhere.

"Say it don't spray it!" Kiba complained while dusting crumbs off his jacket "Why are you eating breakfast here?"

"It's too troublesome to explain."

I smiled at Shikamaru and then at Temari "It's okay, he doesn't have to explain."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "Who are you and what have you done with Tenten?"

I rolled my eyes "Puh-leeze! That line is so old and cliché!"

"Well, that sounds a little more like Tenten." Temari supplied hopefully, her eyes never leaving my face. It was like she was looking for something. I quickly turned away from her. I don't know why I did it; I guess it was just a reflex.

Before we could continue with our pointlessly boring conversation, I caught sight of the object of my thoughts. "Neji!" I cried, waving my hand cheerfully.

He glanced my way and raised an eyebrow. He looks sexy when he does that. I wonder if he practices in front of a mirror.

"What?" the stoic boy intoned as he casually walked my way. Behind him several fan girls death glared me. Kiba's hair caught on fire.

"How are you?" I said with such cheerfulness that Temari and Shikamaru made a face while Kiba ran around in the background, his hair still on fire.

Neji stared blankly at me for a moment "Fine. Are you done now? I have better things to do than waste precious time in idle banter."

Although I had no idea what 'idle banter' meant his words still struck me. It was then that I remembered that I was back to being just me…Tenten. Neji didn't like Tenten, he didn't have a great time with Tenten, Tenten was just a thorn in his side. I felt my eyes tear up and I quickly turned away, praying that my short bangs would cover them up.

Just like that my cheerful mood was gone.

"Fine. I'll see you later." My voice sounded strained.

He nodded and sauntered off.

"Tenten…" Temari said softly, her face full of concern.

"It's nothing." I quickly broke away from my group and ran down the hall. I didn't want to be around them, him, or anyone. I needed to be alone.

-

-

"So if you take the fungi and…"

I only caught a phrase every now and then of Kurenai-sensei's lecture. Well, it wasn't supposed to be a lecture but it came out as one. She sure was long-winded when she wanted to be.

It's weird, but usually I find her class interesting… but today I was out of it. I guess it's pretty depressing when you realize that you kind of like a guy and find out that the guy likes the alternate you. What's even more depressing is that it doesn't make any sense.

I gave a soft, heartfelt sigh. Sometimes I really hated my life. I was about to go into another bout of depression when something bounced off my cheek and landed right by my elbow.

I glanced down. It was a folded up piece of paper. I instantly turned to see Sasuke, my partner, but he was facing the front. Staring questioningly, I reached down and unfolded the piece of paper.

_What's wrong with you? You seem out of it._

I smiled against my will. So my friends weren't the only ones who noticed. I flipped the paper over.

_Nothing you can help with. I'm just tired._

I flicked it at him while Kurenai wrote something on the board. His eyes flitted over to me and I swear I saw a hint of a smirk on his face as he opened it up and read my message. He raised an eyebrow.

_Try me._

I rolled my eyes.

_I like a guy who likes me for being something I'm not. There. _

I watched both his eyebrows raise as he read the message. He glanced at me before quickly jotting something down.

_Okay… so I can't help you with that. Anything else I can do?_

Sasuke sure is a strange person. Why would he want to help me?

_Why? What do you care? I'm only good for two things : Science and the stupid land._

This time his expression changed to a more thoughtful one. He stared at the piece of paper for a moment.

_That's not true. If you honestly think that's all I care about then let me prove you wrong. Meet me at the front gate after school._

That was a surprise. I stared at the paper in shock. What the-

_Huh? Why? What do you mean 'care about'? Please tell me you're not a cliché loser boy._

He grinned.

_Cliché loser boy? I've never been called that before. Listen, you're a human being too and deserve to be treated as one. I thought it was unfair that your parents just sold you like that. I believe that everyone deserves a chance at happiness._

I managed to catch his gaze and when I did I raised an eyebrow.

Sounds strange coming from emo-boy number one 

He glanced at me and shrugged.

_Yeah, well that's because you really don't know me._

I had to wait five minutes before Kurenai turned around again.

Know you? Talk about the number one cliché line in the world. Should I want to know you? 

He shrugged again.

_You seem to have an obsession with all things Cliché. You're so weird. And the final question is for you to decide. Now, stop writing notes in class and pay attention._

I read the note and shook my head slowly. He glanced at me and I smiled. It's weird how this boy who I barely know can make me smile. I was just starting to pay attention to Kurenai when another piece of paper hit my cheek. That boy had some good aim. I'd have to challenge him to an archery contest one day.

_So is it a date? Oh wait, let me guess… too cliché._

I grinned.

_No date. That's so cliché I feel like barfing. I will meet up with you but I will not go on a date. Ha ha! How does rejection feel, Uchiha?_

He read my note and chuckled. It was an interesting sound, I mean seeing that he's pretty much a mute.

_It stings. You're breaking my heart Tenten . Fine I'll see you then. Now stop writing notes._

_Sasuke_

I grinned. At least now I had something to look forward to.

-

-

(Neji's POV)

I was too distracted to care about what Tenten had to say. The previous night, I went online and did some research on Tohru. No one knows much about her, besides the fact that her manager is the famous ex-model Anko, and that she always disappears after a photo shoot. It's like she's hiding something.

I spent the whole school day pondering over this strange female. I wanted to find her again. I already told my uncle about her and he just smiled and said he'd do what he could. That was reassuring since Hiashi-sama always takes care of business.

The school day ended, thankfully. A teacher who once again wished to praise me for my excellent work detained me.

The school was silent from the lack of students. It was rather comforting actually. I swung the large door open and was greeted by a very strange sight.

Uchiha Sasuke on a motorcycle. He was talking to an obvious female figure as she stared at the vehicle with obvious apprehension. Her head turned slightly and I gasped. It was Tenten. What were they doing?

Sasuke seemed to be coaxing her. He pulled out a black helmet and held it out to her. She stared for a second before reluctantly accepting it. She noticed that it wouldn't fit over her hair. She laughed and pulled out the ties.

I glared at Sasuke who stared at her, obviously entranced. Her hair was longer and more beautiful than I remembered. If Tenten tried she could be one of the most beautiful girls in our school. She said something witty to Uchiha who gave a laugh as she climbed on and held on tight. In a few seconds they were gone, leaving me to crumple up my papers with my free hand.

-

-

(Tenten's POV)

It was like flying, only better. I squeezed tighter as we zipped through traffic, passing minivans full of children and mustangs full of angry teenagers. I laughed aloud. This reminded me of the scene from Aladdin when he takes Princess Jasmine on the magic carpet ride, only better.

Every time I tried to say something, the wind would carry my words away. It was kind of like arguing with Temari. She could always out-bellow you. I contented myself with watching the scenery rush by.

…

…

Okay it gets pretty boring after a while.

"SASUKE?" I yelled.

He turned and gave me a half-glare "You don't have to yell, we stopped."

It was then that I noticed that we indeed did stop. We were in the parking lot of a…park?

"Oh, oops… sorry." I felt myself shrinking under his glare.

"What did you want?"

I shook my head sharply as I climbed off "Nothing."

He rolled his eyes as he removed my helmet and tied it to the handlebar. Without another word, he marched off to the park. I jogged to catch up with him while trying to tie my hair back up. I had just caught up with him when his hand clamped around my wrist.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"Don't do that."

I blinked. He can be so weird sometimes "Do what?"

"Tie your hair up." He turned his face away from me so that he was hidden behind his bangs "It looks better down."

Oh my sweet pajamas, was that a compliment? I gaped at him as he strode off once more. After fifteen seconds of gaping I ran to catch up with him once more. I tried to make eye contact but he kept his eyes fixated in front of him.

It was a pretty peaceful day. I stared up at the sky and sighed. I could get lost in the blueness of it all. A group of small children ran past us, giggling and spilling their ice cream. Sasuke and I moved to the side to let them through. I smiled against my will kids are so precious. He seemed to think the same thing because he watched them with a look of fondness in his eyes.

"You like kids?" I asked suddenly, shocking myself with the sudden question. Stupid mouth.

He nodded "I guess."

"You like Ice cream?"

"No."

I did one of those soap-opera gasps, you know the ones where your mouth is open and you tilt your chin back in surprise. "You don't like ice cream." I repeated.

He looked irritated "No."

"Oh my god! How can you not like ice cream? What is wrong with you?"

Sasuke shrugged slowly, his expression turned to one of slight amusement. It was so strange seeing him like this. "I don't like any type of sweets. Tomatoes are the only things I need."

I blanched "TOMATOES!?! OH MY-WHAT-I-YOU-!"

"Finish your sentences already." He grunted as though people stammered at him everyday. Then again, they probably do. I glared at the back of his head, which closely resembled a chicken's butt. I waited for an egg to pop out. When it didn't I sighed and tried to catch up with him once more.

"So what do you like?"

He gave a secretive smile "Quiet people."

I stared at him unblinking "Uh huh…what else?"

He sighed and continued walking. I grinned and matched his pace. Today wasn't so bad after all. I think I made a new friend.

-

-

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE!" Ryu bellowed through his stupid megaphone. I could already hear him without it. I glared at the stupid man, but he didn't pay attention "WE HAVE EXACTLY TWO HOURS TO GET THIS THING THROUGH SO THAT I CAN SEND IT TO-"

Blah blah.

It was the day after I hung out with Sasuke, and I was at another photo shoot. Since the festival was coming up, the theme for this photo shoot was feudal Japan. I was dressed in a stuffy, pink kimono.

Well, it was kinda pretty but Kimono's just aren't my thing. I wished that I were dressed as the guy across from me, who wore a comfortable looking man kimono. It just looked less stuffy.

"Tohru! Over here!" Ryu bellowed once more while pointing. Unlike the last three, this shoot was held outdoors by an ancient temple thingy. I didn't even know they had these near the city. I guess you learn something new every day. In a few minutes Ryu was about to learn how to digest a megaphone.

I glared at him as I took tiny steps towards where he set up everything on the steps of the temple. I seated myself down on a clean looking step and waited.

Anko appeared out of nowhere with some mascara in her hands "Over here!" she stage whispered.

As she pretended to apply mascara she whispered jokes to keep my mood up "I wish that stupid idiot would hurry up." She said as she finished.

"Me too."

"Don't worry, I've got some good news for you!"

I stared at her blankly. Her idea of good news usually made me grow nauseas. I waited for the bomb. "What?"

She grinned excitedly, looking like a school girl for a moment. "ITACHI-KUN IS HERE!" she squealed in my ear. I felt my eardrum pop. Farewell sweet hearing I knew thee well.

"Wait! WHAT?" I looked around frantically and there he was, wearing a dark blue silk kimono with his long hair hanging down. My jaw dropped.

"I know!" Anko giggled excitedly "Isn't he hot?"

I shook my head "Oh god, he can't be here! I refuse to work in the same room as him"

Anko smacked the back of my head. I rubbed it sorely and glared up at her. What the heck was her problem? "Don't ruin my chances with him!" she whispered furiously. Ahhhh… I should've known.

I rubbed my head carefully. My hair was pulled up into one of those intricate buns that require chopsticks and a billion bobby pins. I felt like a porcupine. The overall effect was very lovely, but my poor scalp felt as though it were on fire.

Itachi caught sight of us and began making his way over. Anko could barely contain her excitement while I scanned the room for a means of escape. I guess I could jump in a garbage can…

"So we meet again, Tohru." That line would've been way cliché if we were like arch-enemies, but since we aren't I guess I could let it pass.

"Uh yeah." A cliché line would've been way better than my ultra brilliant response. Where is my intelligence when I need it?

He gave a half-smirk thing, looking for all the world like his younger brother. OH…NO! If he finds

out that I'm Tenten, then all he has to do is tell his brother and…

The panic must've shown on my face because he ducked head a little so that we were eye level. "Is everything alright?"

NO! Everything is not alright! Now get your sexy little self over to the other side of the room and never talk to me again! Of course, I didn't say all that. Instead I just came up with another mind-blowing brilliant response "Yeah, I think so." Wow I am so smart.

"Good." He said, obviously pleased "I would hate for you to get sick during our shoot."

My ears twitched at the word 'our' he couldn't…could he? "Wait, what do you mean by OUR?"

He gave me that smile again. The little smile that makes you think that he knows something that you don't. "Didn't you hear?" he asked, feigning ignorance "The response from our last photo shoot was so good that our managers decided to put us together for more shoots. Apparently, you and I look good together."

That was when I really did get sick. I was just about to barf on him when he said something else "Don't worry, all the pictures won't be with me."

I stopped. Well, there's some good news. "They won't?" I noticed that during all these conversations, that I had been asking a lot of questions.

"No. You'll pose with my friend for a few."

"Friend?" Okay, I need to stop asking questions. I'm starting to sound like a simpleton.

He waved his arm carelessly to a beautiful redhead who joined us "Tohru, meet my friend and fellow model, Sasori."

-

-

**End Chapter**

Lol. Okay, I only added Sasori because someone jokingly mentioned him in a review, and I thought 'why not?' Does this story have a plot? No. Ha! I bet you thought it did! Well you're wrong! Actually, I have no idea. I'm just making this up as I go along.

Don't forget to vote in my poll! And please, review! Also who do you think she should end up with?

Itachi?

Sasuke?

Neji?

Or Hiashi? Okay that one was joke. If anyone votes Hiashi I will think that there's something seriously wrong with you. Well actually, she's not supposed to end up with Itachi either, but why not? VOTE AWAY MY PRETTIES! –cackles and flies off on a broom-


	9. Can this get any weirder?

Yes I know, I'm a lazy, worthless, piece of crap and deserve to be shot/hung/whatevered

Yes I know, I'm a lazy, worthless, piece of crap and deserve to be shot/hung/whatevered. I have no good excuse. How was YOUR spring break? I spent mine going on college tours, on the last one the bus broke down so we sat in the middle of nowhere for like 3 hrs before our rescue team came. Thank god he came, I didn't think I could handle it anymore. Luckily we had movies to watch, we watched King Kong and Independence Day and there was a really nice sub shop in the truck stop, so it wasn't a total waste.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and neither do you. Depressing isn't it?**

I stared blankly for as long as my dry eyes could hold out. My first thoughts were '_Holy cow he's hot!' _and _'Go away Itachi!'_

The red-head gave me a half sympathetic smile, as though he were used to having females gape at him all the time. That made me a little irritated; I hate guys with big egos. I just love deflating them. However, I knew I'd have difficulty deflating this guy. A. He was hotter than hot. B. He was hotter-oh wait, that's the same thing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He said in a typical silky nice-guy voice. Ooh, score one for Sasori.

"Same here." I tried to keep my voice as silky as possible but ended up sounding like Darth Vader. "Have we met before?"

Of course I knew that we had never met but it was the polite thing to say. In addition, it would give me time to analyze his perfect voice. No human could sound that perfect.

Sasori smiled again "I'm pretty sure we haven't, I would find it difficult to forget a face as beautiful and artistic as your own."

I felt my cheeks heat up. There is no way he could be that perfect! He must be a machine! Thankfully Itachi saved me from embarrassment by making me feel more embarrassed. "Yes, Tohru is very lovely is she not?"

"What about her manager?" Anko half-whispered half-grumbled, all the while glaring at me. I shrugged; hey it wasn't my fault weirdo's like popping up out of nowhere. I was only grateful that my weirdo's weren't like Orochimaru. I felt bad for her; her only stalker was a gay old man.

We stood there in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Well, it probably wasn't awkward for Itachi and little Mr. perfect Sasori, but I was tongue-tied. I glanced at Anko for help but she was too busy stabbing a voodoo doll of me. Hey, where'd that come from?

So just when things couldn't get any worse, I heard a familiar voice say "How long is this going to take nii-san?"

I swear my whole body froze. I broke out into a cold sweat and saw my life flash before my eyes. It was strange but during that flash I couldn't help but wish that my life weren't so full of deception.

"Only an hour, no more no less." Itachi responded without turning around to face the newcomer.

Said newcomer eyed me scrutinizing my appearance. "Oh, it's you." He said in the same voice he probably greeted the mailman with.

I reminded myself that Tohru had nothing to fear. Taking a deep breath I faced him "Hello, you must be Itachi's brother. I think I remember you from career day."

I had to hand it to myself I handled things pretty smoothly. If all those guys weren't watching I would've patted my own back. Even if they weren't watching it would've been difficult due to the kimono and all. Seriously, try doing aerobics in one of these. Not as easy as those Chinese girls make it out to be is it?

"Hn."

Wow Sasuke. You sure are a conversationalist. "Um…" I paused for the right amount of time "Sasuke right?"

"Yeah." He looked bored already. I couldn't blame him.

Thus began another glorious awkward silence. This time it was accompanied by Sasuke's kicking a pebble and my sorry attempt at whistling. If there is one thing I can't do, it's whistle. I always try puckering my lips just right and letting out a small amount of air but it never works and I end up looking like a kisser fish.

Okay, just when things couldn't get ANY worse (I do say that a lot don't I?) another familiar voice broke our already awkward silence. "I found you."

My eyes must've resembled bowling balls. I couldn't believe it. This was unreal; it had to be a nightmare or a really nice dream (depends on how you look at it.) I quickly shut my eyes and whispered to myself "It's just a dream, you're going to wake up any minute." Except that never happened. When I opened my eyes they were all still there, plus one new addition to the group.

"Neji."

(Neji's POV)

It had taken a day of using my Uncle's office, and him contacting old friends but I had finally found her. Apparently one of Hiashi-sama's friends worked in the fashion industry and had learned of a photo shoot. Feeling drunken with success, I called for a limo and headed towards where the shoot was being held.

Finally.

She seemed very surprised to see me. Perhaps a little too surprised. Maybe something's wrong?

(Tenten's POV)

By now I was reminding myself when and how to breath. _'That's right Tenten, just slowly inhale…that's a good girl. Now wait a second and exhale… you're doing good.'_

Neji stared at me with a confused expression on his face. He had changed out of his school uniform and wore a casual button down blue shirt with black dress pants and obviousely designer shoes. He looked good, even though his idea of casual was strange. Apparently no one had introduced him to the joy of jeans.

"H-h-h-" I couldn't get any words out.

He and all the others stared at me.

"H-hell."

They blinked. Anko ripped my doll in half. I stared at them in shock and quickly fixed my mistake "Hello Neji." There I did it! A whole sentence! Er, well it's only two words.. BUT THERE'S A PERIOD AT THE END! That counts for something, right? Right?

"Are you alright?" he asked carefully.

I glanced behind his shoulder at the photographer getting ready. I silently prayed that he would get struck with a burst of speed and get this shoot over with. With any luck, I could run out before any one notices.

After a few seconds I realized that he was talking to me. Itachi raised an eyebrow. I tried to swallow but my throat was dry. "Yeah, I'm fine." I croaked.

No I am not fine. I just want to get my job done and suddenly The League Of Extraodinarily Hot Guys Who I Am Lying To ambushes me. I want to go home. I want things to go back to normal.

Neji gave me a small smile. Sure it was miniscule, but it was enough to make the clouds disappear. I found myself smiling back even though moving my facial muscles hurt due to the strain of the bobby pins. Must. Not. Smile.

"Good." He sounded genuinely relieved which made me feel even worse. I wish for once that someone would just hate me. "You looked a little ill there."

"I'm just tired, that's all."

The others chose that time to cut in on our conversation. "Hello Hyuuga, what are the odds of me meeting you here?" Sasuke folded his arms, looking emo as usual.

Neji gave a cold smile "Uchiha, it's nice to see you too."

"Isn't it always?"

Yeah, Sasuke still has major pride problems.

Itachi looked between the two "You know her?" he asked Neji.

The Hyuuga, being as prideful as ever, just gave a scornful look "Of course I do. Tohru and I happen to be very close."

I have to admit, I never thought that Neji would be the type to flaunt our friendship around like that. I mean one night of clubbing doesn't exactly mean we're married or anything.

"Really?" this time Itachi was addressing me.

I gulped "Yes, Neji and I have met before."

"How very nice." He didn't sound too happy. I don't think anyone sounded happy. I really wanted to go home.

"A little more to the left! Now purse your lips more… PERFECT!" Flashes.

"Very good! This is gold!" More flashes. Over time, my eyes have grown used to the blinding flashes of the stupid cameras. It didn't prevent me from wanting to break them though.

Thankfully, I was taking shots separate from Itachi. Maybe we won't be put together after all. "Okay! Not I want Itachi in this shot!" …then again.

I clenched my fists tightly as he approached me with that ever present look on his face. I don't even know how to describe it, but sometimes it irritates me. I glared up at him. He gave me a harmless smile. "What?"

"Nothing." I seethed, turning back to the camera. The Photographer lit up.

"I love it!"

"Love what?" I found myself asking.

He lowered the camera slightly "That look! That burning, passionate anger! It's perfect! It's sexy, it's… wow whatever you're doing, don't stop!"

Sometimes photographers are so weird, but hey, whatever works.

I folded my arms as he called Sasori up to the stage. I was now in a pale blue kimono with silver dragons embroidered in it. My hair was now down and in my hand I held something akin to a samurai sword. To tell the truth, I felt better about this outfit than all the others. Even Neji expressed his approval, something which made me feel better about myself. Sasuke just grunted and Itachi gave a low whistle which made my face heat up. No I am not a crazy fan girl, but if a guy like him whistled at you you'd blush too. Jerk.

For the first few shots I held the sword in front of me threateningly and assumed various 'samurai' poses. As dorky as it was, I found it kind of fun. It as really cool holding an authentic blade of sorts… I forget what the director said they were. I did it so well that even Anko stopped murdering the voodoo doll to smile at me.

Then the rest of the poses I took doing samurai poses with Sasori. The photographer called for us to get close for a shot he'd like to call 'Samurai romance,' or 'forbidden love'. I blanched. He had to be kidding.

He wasn't kidding. Sighing, I took the pose of an innocent looking girl in love while a dark, sexy, brooding Sasori leaned over me while holding a lock of my hair entwined in his fingers. The photograph was kinda cool but I didn't like being so close. It gave an air of love, desperation, and hopefulness.

The photographer crossed the line when he told Sasori to hold me in his arms. I instantly pulled away as my inner fan girl collapsed and screamed 'NOOOOO!!'

He smiled condescendingly "You're as feisty as I imagined you, Tohru… and twice as lovely as the magazines say."

My cheeks heated up again but I still took a step back "I don't feel comfortable with you." I said.

Sasori continued smiling as he quickly drew me into his arms, I gasped; the photographer went crazy taking snapshots. I was blind.

As soon as my sight returned I yanked away from him angrily.

"You know," he said thoughtfully "this really does suit you."

I glared, feeling my Tenten spirit start to rise "If you try any of that funny stuff on me, I'll feed you to the bears!"

He blinked. An amused expression made it's way to his perfect face. GAACK! Did I just say perfect? I meant hideous! Scarred! Anything! Kill me… "Bears… how cute."

It was then that I froze. I quickly turned and saw Neji in conversation with Anko. I sighed in relief and then turned to see Sasuke watching me with a strange expression on his face. Oh crap. I can't believe I just used my catch phrase on Sasori…what if Sasuke…

The younger Uchiha stormed over towards me, his expression turned to one of suppressed rage. He snatched me by the arm "Excuse us." He growled to the photographer, leaving no room for question. I sent out a 'help me' face at Anko but she was too busy talking with Neji about…hair products? Weird…

A few moments later I found myself slammed against the side of the temple. I gulped. I was in trouble.

"Feed him to the bears huh?" he hissed murderously.

I nodded weakly, silently praying that I could find an escape and fast. "S-sasuke…"

"You thought I wouldn't find out, huh Tenten?"

My jaw dropped. It was official. My life was over. "I d-don't know wha-?"

"Shut up, SHUT UP!"

I cringed. Sasuke was scary when he's angry. He looked so different from the gentle person that I got to know in the park. "Sasuke, listen to me…"

"No!" he placed his hands on either side of my head "You listen to me… what do you think you're doing?"

"Modeling."

He shook his head. Wrong answer. "How long do you think that you could hide, huh? Why are you doing this anyway? Masquerading around like this…"

"Sasuke!" I snapped.

"What?"

I sighed. Show's over, Tenten. "Please…" I felt my eyes fill up with tears. If he told then it would be over. My parents would freak, I'd lose my privacy, and my best friends would hate me for lying to them like that… "Don't tell."

He stared at me for a long time, his eyes questioning. "Why?"

"Just don't…" I sniffled.

Sasuke stared at me for a while longer. He sighed and dropped his head. "Fine. Why are you doing this anyway?"

"I wa-wanted my privacy. I didn't want to… it was an accident. It just kind of happened… I just sorta ran into Anko and then…"

"I heard that story already." He growled, his face a mixture of emotions. It was rare to see such an expression on his face. "I just don't understand why you lied to everyone…to me." When he said 'me', he looked so hurt I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst into tears.

Sasuke's body stiffened as I leaned against him, muffling my sobs by leaning into his shoulder. He awkwardly wrapped an arm around me and leaned his head against mine. "Tenten…"

"I'm so sorry." That was all I was able to say. I said it over and over until my voice gave out. I didn't want to lie to my friends. It just happened… my only wish was that I could erase the day I created Tohru. I was so caught up in my web of lies that I had trapped myself and everyone around me. We were all balancing on a delicate thread that needed to be cut. I wasn't ready to cut it…not yet.

After a few sappy moments I leaned back against the wall and smiled weakly at him. He re-placed his hands on either side of my head and surprisingly smiled back. Well, it was more like a kindly smirk, but you get what I mean. It was still sweet of him.

Sasuke quickly replaced his smirk with his usual serious look. "You're still going to have to tell someday, you know that."

I felt myself grow shocked. "Isn't there another way? I mean…"

His face was dead serious "No."

I was going to say something else, as difficult as it was; I mean his freaking bangs were brushing my face! Well, before I could ask him to back off before I pass out various flashes blinded me. "What the-"

We both turned "DON'T TURN! STAY EXACTLY AS YOU ARE! THIS IS PURE MAGIC!"

Both of our faces dropped as we recognized the voice of the photographer. I gave Sasuke a little smile. He scowled. The photographer cried tears of joy. I need to find out that guy's name so that I could send a hit man out after him.

"ALRIGHT PEOPLE!" he bellowed, "THAT'S A WRAP!"

"What? Really?" I asked, amazed. We were done already?

"Yup!" he nodded his head so hard I thought that it would fall off. Not like I would've minded "You guys were perfect. That's all I need."

Strangely enough, I found myself smiling at him. I turned to Sasuke who looked mildly pleased. His expression instantly hardened. I looked and saw Neji staring at him with an equally hard expression on his face.

Sasuke glared.

Neji glared back.

Itachi walked by whistling 'The Muffin Man.'

This was definitely the weirdest photo shoot of my life. Let's sum it all up shall we? I was forced into a stuffy kimono, confronted by hot guys, found out, had a candid shot of me, and I actually heard the great Uchiha Itachi whistling a nonsense song. My eye twitched.

"Can I go home now?" I asked Anko who had already mutilated the voodoo doll past recognition, set it on fire, and was currently dancing around the small blaze.

She grinned at me sheepishly as she stomped out the fire. "Sure."

I turned and said my brief thanks to the photographers, makeup artists, and quickly ran to my small dressing tent to get changed.

In a few minutes I was wearing semi-casual clothes. Actually everything I had on was expensive, down to my shoes. I never really got into brand names even though Anko was always fawning over my Gucci shoes, or my Chanel (sp? I forget.) handbag.

The guys were still there. Itachi and Sasori had already changed. I gave them a tight-lipped smile and mumbled a thank-you. I was almost away from the temple when someone grabbed my arm. I turned around to see Neji standing there.

"I wanted to talk with you." He said, sounding like a desperate lover. Weird.

I smiled "Sorry, but I really have to get home now. Maybe some other time."

"Can I at least have your phone number?"

Wow, can you get any more cliché lover boy? I reached out and patted his cheek condescendingly. Darn, his skin is smoother than mine. I am so jealous. "No can do. I'll get in touch with you some way."

"When? I had to hunt you down." He began to sound really desperate. I honestly felt bad for him for a moment there.

"Neji…" I sighed. This was way too complicated. I almost told him the truth. "I'm really sorry. Don't worry, I'll find you. Trust me."

He nodded, looking miserable. I smiled and ruffled his hair playfully, earning a reproachful look from the taller boy. Well, reproachful was a step up from miserable, right? I grinned and walked off.

I was two inches away from the car when I heard "Hey."

I looked up to see Sasuke leaning against his own car, only a few feet away.

"Hey."

"I won't tell." He folded his arms "But you will. Soon."

I hated lying to him, but it was the only way to get him off my back. "Alright, I will."

Inwardly I was saying 'yeah right!'. It was just too soon. I smiled weakly but he just scowled. Sighing I climbed inside Anko's car.

"Let's go home."

Let's go home so that I can lie some more to my parents. Will there every be a day when I can tell the truth? Maybe one day I will come clean. Not today.

Not now.

**End Chapter**

I know you're all screaming 'you suck!'. That's okay. I know I suck. I just hope you guys at least think I suck enough to review. You'd really make me happy. Also, I'm thinking of rushing this story and finishing 'All My Life' I'd really like to get started on a few new ideas.

Review okay?


	10. Charades is not for the stupid

Hey guys

**Hey guys! I'm back! –dodges kunai- yeah…I love you too.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, otherwise I'd have more privacy!! –glares- Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. To the rest of my reviewers don't be confused. There is only one person in particular that I'm thinking about right now. I hope you're reading this and feel guilty. Jerk.**

"B3."

"BINGO!"

"Kiba you moron! That's not bingo! It's not even lined up! What kind of crack-head version of this game are you playing?" Temari scolded while hitting the poor dog-boy upside the head. I winced as I heard a crack. That had to hurt.

Shikamaru, who was stretched across the dingy looking couch, yawned. "Temari, do you have to be so troublesome?"

She whirled to face him, her dark eyes narrowed dangerously. I suddenly felt like hiding. Temari can be scary when she wants to be. The rest of the time she's…scary. Right now we were participating in our semi-annual semi-sleepover. I came up with the title myself. Ordinarily we do dumb stuff like roller skating, but as of late we had grown a little more distant so our amazing friend Temari decided to host our semi-annual semi-sleepover at her apartment.

Her apartment is pretty nice. It has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen area, a full bathroom, and a few random closets. The carpeting looks like something out of the 70's but is unbelievably soft which is why I'm walking around barefoot.

I turned back to my three friends who were all arguing. In a fit of rage, Kiba grabbed all the bingo equipment and shoved it back into the box. "I hate this game! Only old ladies play it!"

I rolled my eyes. Temari stomped over. "DON'T YOU DARE-" punch "SMASH-" punch "My" kick to the groin "GAMES!"

Shikamaru winced as he stared down sympathetically at the pile of broken bones formerly known as Kiba. Poor guy. He always gets it bad. Temari's not the only girl who beats him up. Almost every girl he's hit on beats him up, which is weird. If Neji and Sasuke weren't attending school, Kiba could've easily been one of the most popular guys there. I mean, he has the wild but nice hair; wolfish grin, fun loving attitude and all… but unfortunately all the girls have fallen for the stoic emo boys.

"You guys are stupid." I laughed.

Temari turned to me and grinned, "I know aren't they?"

"Actually, I kinda meant you too."

Before she could reply, Kiba bounded over her couch and ran into the kitchen. "Is there anything to eat in here?" he called out from inside the refrigerator.

"Oh no he didn't." Temari's nostrils flared. Weird, I only heard about people's nostril's flaring in books. Yet here she stood, looking like one of those bulls you see in cartoons. I took a step back. "KIBA! GET YOUR SORRY –censored- OUT OF MY –censored- REFRIDGERATOR BEFORE I –censored- KICK YOUR –censored-"

My eye twitched. I glanced at Shikamaru whose eye was also twitching. "She's your girlfriend." I pointed out.

"Sometimes I wonder if she's even female…" he muttered under his breath.

I grinned. It felt so good hanging out with my friends again. After my meeting with the League at the photo shoot, I was all for some friend bonding time.

Kiba limped out of the kitchen. He fell to his knees in front of Shikamaru with a look of utter desperation in his eyes. "Don't go in there!" he cried dramatically "She's evil I tell you! Evil!"

"It can't be that bad." I said as I reached for a half-empty bag of chips. Mmm… sour cream and onion.

Temari came out with a triumphant grin on her face. She winked at me as she slung an arm around Shikamaru's shoulder. "So," she said, "What fun game should we play next?"

"How about something less violent?" I suggested. Kiba nodded eagerly.

Shikamaru glanced at me through half-lidded eyes. "Like what?"

"Truth or dare?"

Kiba shook his head "Nah. That's only fun if you have cute girls around." He took a look at Temari and my angry faces and quickly said, "I mean, cute girls that you haven't grown up with!"

We glared at him.

"Again I say, like what?" That boy is too lazy for his own good. His parents should get him involved in an exercise program. I grinned at the thought of Shikamaru doing aerobics. That would be funny.

"What are you smiling at?" Temari asked as she propped her feet up on her coffee table.

I shook my head. "Nothing. So… what kind of game is safe and nonviolent?"

Kiba raised his hand.

"We could play monopoly…"

Kiba began waving his hand.

"…or chess… but then that would mean two people would be left out."

By now Kiba was doing a dance on the couch.

Temari glared "Stop dancing fool!"

"I know but I have an idea!"

We looked at him dubiously "You… are having an idea… impossible." We said in unison. It's freaky how we do that.

He decided to ignore us "We could play…" he leaned forward for a dramatic effect "charades!"

I stared at him in surprise. That idea was actually pretty good…which was a shock. Usually he suggests something stupid.

"Well?" I turned to the other two "How does charades sound? I know I'm in."

The Inuzuka leapt across the couch to hug me from where I sat on the floor. I struggled with him for a moment before I finally gave him one good hit to the head.

Temari and Shikamaru considered for a moment before nodding.

"Alright!" I clapped my hands excitedly "Charades it is!"

"A zombie!"

"A gymnast!"

It was Kiba's turn and we were trying to figure out what the heck he was doing. He had grabbed a bed sheet and wrapped it firmly around his neck before plopping on the ground and leaning his upper torso up with his arms extended forward. I thought my zombie guess was good he looked exactly like what. Although I didn't understand why a zombie needed a bed sheet. Maybe the zombie was waking up?

"Temari in the morning!" Temari glared at Shikamaru.

He shrugged innocently "What? You look like that every time you wake up."

"He's telling the truth." We turned to see Gaara, Temari's red-haired young brother, coming out of his bedroom. He was wearing baggy black pants and a cream colored button down shirt with the top three buttons undone. He looked very comfortable.

"LIAR!" Temari yelled.

Gaara shrugged as he seated himself on the ground beside me. I smiled "Hey, sleep well?"

He shrugged again, a gesture which he uses very frequently.

Kiba hit the ground to capture our attention before rising up once more. I stared at him blankly. His charade made no sense at all. "A zombie trying to hug someone in the morning?" I guessed.

He glared at me. Sheesh.

I turned to Gaara who was narrowing his jade eyes at Kiba as he contemplated his motions. Gaara was a very calculative person. Sometimes he would spend half an hour deciding on cereals. He is pretty smart, but his movements are so languid they drive me crazy. If I want something I want it now, whereas he has to think about it. He also has the looks which would make him popular at our school; the only problem was he didn't attend. At least not when he felt like it.

"It would help if your charade made sense." He said after a short period.

Kiba glared even harder. He raised his hands, showing that he had an idea. I hoped so because this current idea sucked.

He ran to the corner of the room and did his little 'rise' thing again. This time he bounded towards where we were and grabbed Temari from behind. He then dipped his head, as though he were biting her neck.

"A pimp?" I asked.

Kiba slapped his forehead so hard that I could even feel it. He repeated the motion, this time more violently. Halfway across the room he tripped over that stupid bed sheet and ended up sprawled on the floor, with both he and Temari tangled up.

"An idiot with a bed sheet wrapped around his neck?" Shikamaru and Gaara deadpanned.

"Ooohhhh…" I said knowingly "You're doing something naughty."

I heard laughter from behind me. All of us turned around to see none other than Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke standing in the doorway, wearing grins on their faces. Well, Sasuke's was more like a smirk but you get the idea.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY APARTMENT!" the lump that I could only guess was Temari screeched.

Naruto rolled his eyes as though we were stupid. "Duh, we were invited."

I squinted up at them. "This is a friends sleepover." I said gesturing towards the others "Why are you here?"

"Because we're friends!"

"Says who?" Temari, Kiba, and I demanded.

The blonde walked right in as though he owned the place. "Gaara invited me!"

"HE WHAT?"

We fixated our glares on Gaara who stared back at us calmly. "What?"

"You know this idiot?" Kiba asked, pointing his cloth covered hand in Naruto's direction.

"HEY!"

Gaara nodded solemnly. "Naruto is my friend. I invited him. You never said that we couldn't invite anyone else. You merely said that this was a friends sleepover, and since he is my friend he is not to be excluded."

Those were the most words I've heard him say in a week. I gaped at him. Apparently, my sentiments were shared because the rest of us shared similar expressions.

"So then why is Sasuke here?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto grinned, "Because Sasuke is MY friend!"

I glanced up at the Uchiha who smirked down at me. "Surprise."

Okay, stay calm Tenten. Just breath. Don't look mad… be calm, cool, calculative. You can do this! Be cool.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Gaara asked.

I blinked. "Oh, no reason." To make up for the glare I attempted a charming smile.

"Why are you grimacing at me?" Gaara asked, this time while scooting away from me.

Sasuke seated himself on the edge of the couch beside Naruto. Temari just barely managed to free herself from her bed sheet prison, leaving Kiba wrapped up like a cocoon.

Naruto stared at her blankly as she huffed her way over right beside Shikamaru. "What were you guys doing anyway?"

"We were playing charades." I explained through gritted teeth. Smiling is a lot harder than people make it look.

"Yeah I got that." He nodded "But what were you trying to be?"

"He was a vampire." Sasuke said, saying his second phrase since he entered the building. Wow Sasuke, sometimes you amaze me. "Couldn't you tell, with the cape and all?"

We stared at him blankly.

He shook his head once and looked away, obviously done with speaking. We sat in a very much awkward silence. Sometimes I feel like I can kill Gaara. I glared at the redhead seated beside me. He met my glare with a cool gaze of his own.

"So…" I half said, half coughed "Sasuke why are you here? I know that Naruto invited you and all, but aren't you like antisocial?"

Sasuke's dark eyes stared down at me for a few moments, making me feel embarrassed. He could make even the smartest of people feel stupid with that kind of gaze. "I actually came to see you."

I felt my cheeks heat up as my friends turned towards me with suspicious looks on their faces. Even Shikamaru looked interested. "M-me?" I squeaked.

"There's a big charity ball-banquet thing going on this Friday, and I want you to go as my date." He said as though my all my best friends weren't there watching us in shock.

"W-what?" Temari and I stuttered at the same time. She turned to me. "Since when were you and Sasuke so…close."

"Only recently." He answered for me, with an amused look in his eyes. I glowered. "So, can you go?"

I felt my entire being freeze up. If I said yes then my friends would freak, if I said no they'd freak. There was no right and wrong.

"You should definitely go then!" Temari chirped up suddenly. I stared at her in shock.

"Say what?"

She grinned, "You and Sasuke going together would be the coolest thing! Then those loser fan girls at our school would know what happens when they mess with the two baddest-"

"What's today?" I said cutting off her speech. If there's one thing she loves, it's messing with the fan girls. Maybe going with Sasuke won't be so bad. I mean, it certainly wasn't a crime, and it'd definitely make my parents happy. Thinking about my parents reminded me of the whole land/forced marriage thing. I blanched. I had almost forgot about that.

"Tuesday." Gaara, Sasuke, and Shikamaru grunted in unison.

I thought about it for a moment. That would give me five day's warning. I could cancel if I wanted to. That and maybe Anko could help me find a good outfit. "I guess I could…" I trailed off as Temari death glared me. "I mean, yes! I'd love to!"

Sasuke smirked. "Hn." Wow I feel so special.

Temari squealed in excitement and grabbed me in a tight hug. Shikamaru smirked. Kiba stared at us blankly with the stupid sheet still wrapped around his neck. Gaara nodded.

"Do you know what this means?" Temari asked, while still hugging me. I felt my oxygen slip away "It means that you'll get to meet Tohru!"

My eyes widened. "Wha-?"

She whipped out a magazine from under the couch and opened to page 36. "See, here in the ball's preparations they talk about the celebrities who will be attending. Look right here. It says 'Hyuuga Neji and TOHRU!!" she yelled the last part.

I stared at the page in shock. Sure enough it said exactly that, minus the squealing of course. I couldn't believe it.

Gaara's bedroom door slammed open. "Did someone say Tohru?" Kankurou, Temari's freaky younger brother, asked as he charged into the living room. Like his sister he is a major Tohru fan and part time stalker. One time I had to have a police officer taser him off my limo.

"AAAHHH!!" Naruto screamed, sounding suspiciously like a girl, as he jumped into Sasuke's lap.

Shikamaru, Kiba, and I grinned. We all had similar reactions when we first saw him. He has this weird face paint on like he's in a cult or something. It's pretty freaky when you're not used to it. Even Sasuke looked a little startled.

I used that moment of shock to excuse myself. "I have to call my mom and tell her. She's a major Tohru fan." At least that lie was believable. Everyone knows that my Mom likes staying up to date on the latest celebrity gossip.

Sasuke gave me a look as I slipped into Gaara's room. Who cares what he thinks? I had a bone to pick with my manager.

Gaara's half of the room was surprisingly clean and normal looking. It was a little dark in there; most of his furniture was deep shades instead of happy colors like Temari's. Kankurou's half of the room was full of puppets and what looked suspiciously like dolls. I plopped down on his neatly made bed and whipped out my cell phone.

"Hello?" Anko's groggy voice croaked.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?" I shrieked into the phone.

"Toh-Tenten…it's too early to scream at me."

"IT'S EIGHT O' CLOCK IN THE EVENING!"

"So?"

I forced myself to calm down. I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself. "Why…" I said through gritted teeth "Did you tell the press that Tohru was going to the ball with Hyuuga Neji?"

"Because you are?" she asked, sounding confused.

I took a deep breath "Tenten," I said slowly "Is going to the ball with Sasuke."

"So? Just tell him that something came up."

"I think he planned this. He knows."

"WHAT?" It was her turn to scream now. I held the phone away from my ears. She was as loud as a high school cheerleader.

"It was an accident. He just kind of found out."

"Then tell him you have to cancel." I could tell that her teeth were gritted. She only sounded like that when she was really angry or really tired.

"I said I think he planned this. He wants me to tell everyone the truth." I sighed, sounding tired.

There was a pause. "Figure it out. I can't take back the information now; otherwise there'd be more than enough gossip for the two of us. Sorry kid, there's not much I can do."

I sighed again "Fine."

"You have five days to get rid of the Uchiha."

"He's a difficult opponent. He might just get his way."

"What kind of talk is that?" she demanded "Where's the spunky spirit I grew to love? Fight the power! Bye!"

With that she was gone. I stared at my cell phone for a moment and sighed. I really needed to sort things out.

Clenching my fists, I opened the door and stepped back into the living room.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, IT'S FACE PAINT NOT MAKEUP!" Kankurou bellowed at Naruto.

I smiled "Aw, poor Kanky-chan…" I said teasingly.

The boy glared at me. Okay, well he's not really a boy, but still he's boyish enough to be called one. Wait, what was I saying again? Oh yes, he glared at me.

"Stop glaring." I commanded, I turned to Sasuke and glared

"What did your Mom say?" he asked smoothly, knowing full well that I didn't call her.

I forced a smile "She was excited."

"Good. She ought to be."

Temari glomped me again "Oh this is going to be so exciting! We'll do your hair, makeup, and everything! You'll look way better than those stinkin' celebrities!"

As she rambled on, I found myself in a glaring match with Sasuke. He just smirked and turned away "My brother should be here any minute."

I blinked "Itachi? Why?"

"He's coming to pick me up. I wasn't going to stay. Naruto is though."

I looked towards the blonde who began grinning broadly. "Great, leave US with the idiot."

"HEY!"

Sasuke smirked his arrogant little smirk before popping a cheese puff into his mouth. Darn, now I want a cheese puff. I wasn't going to bow down and ask him though, so I plopped myself on the ground as far away from him as possible.

There was a knock on the door. Sasuke nodded "That's probably him."

Kankurou rose up steadily to answer the door. He swung it wide open.

"AH!" Itachi gave a short yell. I laughed.

Kankurou gave an indignant snort before stomping off to his bedroom. The older Uchiha entered the room and looked around until his gaze locked with Sasuke's. "Come on, let's go. Tenten, nice to see you again."

Temari gave me a shocked look but I was too busy avoiding her gaze. Filled with sudden impulse, I grabbed the younger Uchiha's wrist and dragged him towards Temari's room. "Itachi, I have to talk to your brother. It'll only be a minute!"

"Fine."

Before anyone could stop me, I dragged Sasuke into Temari's room and slammed the door behind me. Unlike her brother's room, Temari's was moderately messy. I was grateful that she didn't have any embarrassing underwear lying around the floor. Instead there were scattered papers and textbooks. The walls were a pale green.

Sasuke released himself from my grip and stared at me. "What did you want?"

"Why are you doing this?"

He shrugged "To get you to tell the truth. Duh."

I never thought I'd see the day when Sasuke would say Duh. I shook my head "I can't! My parents would kill me!"

"You'd survive. You should at least tell your friends."

"Shikamaru wouldn't care but Kiba and Temari would be furious! They'd probably never speak to me again!" I wished that he could understand. I leaned against her dresser, facing him. "She's done embarrassing stuff around Tohru…embarrassing! One time she dove on the limo! If she ever found out that she did a humiliating face plant on MY limo she'd never forgive me! She'd probably kill me!"

Sasuke's face suddenly turned grave. Maybe I had got through to him. When I looked more closely I realized that he was looking past me. My heart stopped beating for a second there.

"Yes…" a too familiar voice, said tightly "she probably would."

The whole universe was about to collapse. I shut my eyes tightly to prevent any tears. No, not now. "T-Temari." I choked on the name of the person behind me. It was official…my life, my friendship, everything…was over. I turned around to face my best friend and boy did she look pissed.

**End Chapter**

Semi-kinda-cliffhanger. Hurrah. I don't know why I'm so apathetic about this story. Oh well, leave a review will ya? It'd make me happy.

Oh yeah, I'm kinda thinking of discontinuing. Lemme know what you think. Maybe I'll let some poor unfortunate soul continue it, eh?


	11. Authors notes and general bull

**Hey guys, long time no see.**

**First of all I'd like to give my reviewers and any supporters a big fat THANK YOU for your kindness. You guys are the sweetest, awesomest (is that even a word?), most beautiful reviewers in the world and I wouldn't be half as confident as I am today without you. Thank you so very much.**

**This story ends right now, along with any others stories I may have. I'm considering continuing Cliché unless anyone objects. **

**IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE 'All My Life' OR EVEN 'Cliché' PLEASE PM ME! DO NOT ASK IN A REVIEW BECAUSE THAT'LL BE KIND OF TACKY. NO OFFENSE. WHY AM I SHOUTING? LAAAAA!!!**

**Ooh! Did anyone see Twilight? Didn't it suck? They could've funded it better and made it mind-blowing. Still, stupid old me is going next November for New Moon. They'd better improve it or else I'm going picketing. Who's with me? Robert Pattinson, Kellan Lutz, Taylor Lautner, and even Jackson Rathbone were H.O.T. **

**Anyway back to my point… I am writing ONE MORE FIC. Since I promised a few of my oneshot reviewers a SasuHina this final one is a SasuHina. I will be posting the first chapter today. It is a high school fic, I know how most of you guys like normal fics but I can't bring myself to do one. I really am tired of all anime excluding Full Metal Alchemist.**

**So thank you! Thank you! Thank you! For everything! I hope you will still read my new story. I know SasuHina isn't the most popular pairing, but surely you love me enough to read it right? –crickets chirp-**

**See you in Operation: Happily Ever After!!!!!!**

**Much love**

**The One and Only, Nikki**


	12. Bridges, Barbies, and Bras

Guess who? Meliesan's review inspired me to continue anyways. I might not be able to update every week or so, but I will finish this! I lose inspiration so reviews would be appreciated –hint hint- I still love you guys!

**-**

**-**

"Now remember Tenten, stick to The Plan."

I rolled my eyes. Here she goes again. Sasuke threatened to tell if I didn't go as his date, so my only option was to go with both boys.

Sounds weird right? Well after Temari yelled at me for three straight hours she went into secret agent mode. She came up with a plan, along with Caroline who was more than happy to assist me in my time of need. She was the only designer I knew I could trust with my secret.

I was amazed that things could work out, after all the drama I'd been through. I leaned back on my bed as Temari revised the finer points of our secret plan. In exactly 24 hours I would be at a charity ball for one of the state's biggest children's hospitals. Not to be callus, but I couldn't exactly remember its name. I knew that I loved children though, and had Anko send the hospital a check for a million dollars.

"I get it Tema." I groaned into my pillow as she added something new to the plan.

Temari glared at me over her notebook. "Look, it's bad enough you've been lying to me for years, the least you can do is cooperate."

"I AM cooperating."

She smacked me in the forehead with her pen. Ouch that hurt. "No you aren't, you're being a big baby. Now what dress are you wearing?"

"A girly one?" I guessed.

She heaved a dramatic sigh and plopped down beside me, mumbling something about hopeless supermodels.

I felt bad for her, honestly I did but I had bigger fish to fry.

-

-

When I speak of bigger fish to fry, I mean another dinner at the Uchiha mansion. Mrs. Uchiha was so charmed with me, that she invited me over again. This time I behaved and pulled all my hair back into a low ponytail. I still wore a t-shirt and jeans but according to Mom it was an improvement. I think she'd prefer my wearing a ballroom gown.

Thankfully Mom was not invited to the charity ball; otherwise it would be a disaster. She may have her head in the clouds but she is very observant. "Honey why are you wearing that bra?"

See what I mean?

"Mom it's my lucky bra."

I could see Dad blanch as he pressed the doorbell. This time they left their fancy gate open, so driving up was a piece of cake. A valet drove our car to the side of the house, instantly winning Mom's affections.

"Lucky or not, if you get wet it'll be visible."

Nag, nag, nag.

A pompous butler opened the door, looking down his noodle-like nose at us. "Welcome." He sniffed.

We tiptoed in shyly, still unused to all the grandeur of the Uchiha mansion. Mr. Noodle Nose escorted us into a ginormous living room with enough furniture for twenty people and their Grandma's.

"Hello Tenten, its so nice to see you again." Mrs. Uchiha enveloped me in a warm embrace. I returned the hug and glanced over her shoulders. It was only her and her husband.

As if she could read my mind she pulled back, holding my hands in a motherly gesture. Her hands were nice and warm. "The boys are out right now getting ready for tomorrows ball." She explained, smiling sweetly "I wanted it to be just us."

I nodded, just a little disappointed. I was so used to drama that normalcy freaked me out. How weird is that? "Understood."

"It's okay with you, isn't it?" She searched my eyes for any traitorous emotions.

I put my poker face on "Yes of course."

She looked a little disappointed, but quickly pulled away to greet my family. I seated myself in an enormous comfortable armchair across the room from Mr. Uchiha. Something about his stern stare frightened me. Maybe I was just nervous knowing he was the only one who didn't even pretend to care about me. He wanted his land and he'd do anything to get it.

He glared at me during the whole visit. I don't know how, but I think he knows something. I would approach him the next day as Tohru and see if he knew. Sasuke wouldn't tell him, would he?

-

-

"Darling, you're gorgeous!"

"Why do I have to do this again?"

"Shut up, Shika and just help me!"

"Dear God: Why me?"

You could probably guess who was talking. I was in Temari's apartment getting ready for my first showing. Caroline, wonderful woman that she is was the main source of my misery. After my shower she stuffed me into her dress, proclaiming that I absolutely MUST model her next line on the catwalk. Yeah, like that'd ever happen.

Temari and I had agreed to inform Shikamaru of my situation. He didn't freak out, he only stared at me for a long moment and said "I figured something like that was going on. You don't get that much money from McDonalds." I guess I wasn't half the genius I thought I was.

The dress was the main component of Temari's 'super brilliant plan.' It was a special dress Caroline had yet to reveal, one that could be worn inside out or outside in. The whole plan was for me to come in as Tenten and hang out for about an hour before Neji was to arrive. Then we would have Shikamaru burst in announcing a 'family emergency', I would run out, flip my dress, change my shoes hair and contacts, and come in as Tohru.

It wasn't the best laid plan, but Shikamaru said that it was the best we could come up with on such a short notice. Since Shika is a genius, we had to take his advice. It was either that or get discovered in front of the press, the LAST thing I needed.

I winced as Caroline pulled my long brown hair into a severe bun, allowing some wisps to 'tastefully' frame my face. The earrings she gave me were simple studs so I could pull them out easier for my change back to Tohru.

I sighed as she applied a little foundation and lip gloss. When I become Tohru she would add eyeliner, mascara, and a little blush. The whole point was to make Tenten more simple and natural while Tohru would be glamorous.

"We're done!" Temari announced as she touched up my lip gloss. "I must say you look lovely. Very natural, very Tenten. You'll knock him dead."

"I'd like to knock him dead." I grumbled irately.

Caroline smiled "He should be here within thirty minutes." She clapped her hands delightedly; forgetting that I hated his guts "I'll meet you outside to do your makeup. Its a good thing Tohru's hair is usually wavy, so all you have to do is take out the bun."

"Don't forget to change shoes." Temari advised.

"And act differently as yourself. Be shy, a little clumsy, and very cute. Can you do that?" Caroline asked seriously.

I rolled my eyes "I've been pretending this long, I think I can be cutesy."

"Perfect! You are ready!"

I stood up, trying the shoes out. They were a hundred dollars, cheap in the eyes of most, definitely vintage but very cute. I stared at my reflection. I did look natural, that was what I wanted. "Okay." I said to the cutesy girl in the mirror "Let's do it."

-

-

"You look great." Sasuke said as I stepped out Temari's apartment and glided down the steps.

I gave him a sideways glance; my lip curled up in dry humor "That's very cliché of you."

We didn't say anything else until after we got in his limo and pulled up to the five star hotel where the ball was being held. Being in an elevator with the Uchiha did not sound fun.

A man opened the door accompanied by the flash of thousands of bulbs. Wow, they really rolled out the red carpet here. I prepared to step out but was halted as Sasuke's hand gripped me, yanking me back into the limo.

"What are you planning?" He hissed into my ear. Dang, he was smart.

I batted my eyes innocently. "Me? Why, nothing at all? Why would you suspect me of planning something? Don't you trust me Sasuke-kun."

"You're lying." His obsidian eyes darkened dangerously.

I gave him my smuggest smirk and patted his cheek. "Maybe. Maybe not." I stepped out the limo before he could yank me back again.

I almost waved at the paparazzi before remembering that I was going as Tenten, not Tohru. I stepped back and smiled shyly, giving a tiny wave as Sasuke came up from behind me, his hands shoved in his pockets.

He leaned towards me, his lips brushing my ear. I shivered involuntarily. "I'm watching you." He whispered.

To the casual observer, it would look like he was comforting me, or even offering kindly advice. I forced my smile to widen as I faced him "How very sweet of you!" I gushed loudly enough for a nearby photographer to hear.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He looked like he was going to say something else, but another vehicle pulled up behind us. We walked towards the hotel. There were a few more flashes, but most of the attention was drawn on the occupants of the other limo.

The ballroom was absolutely lovely. It was a large Cinderella-style ballroom with a few delicately decorated tables on the side for refreshments or snacks. A D.J. stood in the corner setting up his music and turntables while a well dressed jazz band was currently standing by the fountain in the middle of the room and playing gentle music.

I wondered why I never went to this hotel before. It was certainly far away enough. Perhaps one day 'McDonalds' could give me a bonus and I could take my parents here for a night or two. A well dressed man was about to relieve me of my jacket when he realized I didn't have one.

I smoothed my dress down. This time I didn't need to feign nervousness; I was terrified that things wouldn't work out as smoothly as planned. At least no one would recognize the dress too well. The side I was wearing was your typical little black dress with a slightly frilled skirt and no sleeves. On the other side it was purple with one sleeve that could be pulled out of a hidden pocket. The changes were tiny but significant enough to make it look completely different.

"Sasuke-kun! How very nice to see you!"

We both turned to see Sakura galloping towards us. What was she doing here? I gave Sasuke a confused glance.

"Her parents are rich." He explained.

Oh yeah, I kept on forgetting. They owned a company two cities over. It wasn't half as big as the Uchiha or Hyuuga, but it had enough publicity to warrant them receiving invitations to charity balls such as this one.

Sakura literally threw herself at Sasuke and gave him what seemed to be a bear hug. After clinging to him for longer than necessary she pulled back and 'recognized me'. "Oh." She gave me a dramatic once over "It's you. Nice dress, did you get it from Wal-Mart."

I was insulted. Caroline worked hard on this design. Sakura was obviously faking the hatred, even a blind person could tell it was cute.

Compared to her undying love for Tohru, this was downright hateful. It was hard being used to people treating you one way, and having them treat you another. She was so sweet when I was Tohru. Chump. "Sakura!" I gave my fakest smile "How nice to see you! I just love your dress!" I hated her dress. It was pink with pink sequins and pink heels. "It's so very…pink. Looks like you had an accident in a Barbie factory."

"There's a reason why Barbie is popular and you aren't." she snapped, her green eyes narrowing.

That's how its gonna be? Oh it is on girlfriend! I folded my arms "If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy all her friends?" I retorted, all sass.

She gaped at me for about five seconds before flouncing off, a blur of pink. I turned to Sasuke who was suppressing a smile. I winked boldly "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you handle bitches."

Sasuke put a finger over my mouth. I felt my cheeks heat up at the strangely intimate action. "Never swear aloud at these functions."

I pulled my head back, glaring at him "What do you think I am? A moron? I've been to these before stupid! I was just…"

"Slipping up?" he supplied helpfully.

"Oh shut up." I glowered. "I'm getting some snacks. You want some?"

"The man is supposed to get the snacks for the woman." He deadpanned.

I smiled sweetly "Why do you think I'm getting them?" I stormed off before he could retort. I had to remind myself that I had only one more hour of this torture. I made eye contact with a few celebrity acquaintances of mine, but they only stared back dully like I wasn't worth their time. People sure are snooty when you're not famous.

I saw Caroline enter, and noticed Anko in the corner eyeing the wine bottles. Sasuke was busy talking to some tall old man; he didn't need his finger food yet. I took a little detour in Anko's direction.

"Hello," I noticed a few people in the corner of my eye staring at me "You look bored."

Anko opened her mouth to yell a greeting. I gave her the evil eye. "That's because I am bored." She said, mellowing out as she followed my mental wavelength.

My eyes swept the ball room "This is beautiful, I've never been to anything like this before."

"Aren't you Sasuke Uchiha's date?" I recognized the gleam in the man's eyes. He was one of the few reporters allowed entrance.

I forced myself to be friendly "Why yes, I am." I used my stage blush.

"Well my name is Marcus Edwards from The City Times. I'd like to ask you a few questions…"

-

-

After a long boring interview with Marcus, eating some snacks, and dancing once with Sasuke I knew it was time. I caught Caroline's eyes from across the room. She was talking with a few well known designers. I gave her the nod and watched as she excused herself, exiting with a grace known only to her.

I pulled my cell phone out of one of the many hidden pockets. "Temari? It's time."

I watched in satisfaction as the battery died.

-

-

"LET ME IN! THAT'S MY FRIEND IN THERE! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! PLEASE!"

I heard the commotion from the entrance as guards wrestled with the desperate boy. Game on. I put on my surprised face and joined the crowd of nosy onlookers heading towards the door. Shikamaru was more animated than I'd seen him in months.

"Shikamaru!" my voice was absolutely perfect "What are you doing here?"

One guard who held him by the scruff of his shirt turned to me "You know this guy?"

"Yes! That's my friend! Let him in please!

They reluctantly released Shikamaru who hurtled himself towards me, his clothes ruffled, and gasping for breath. "I tried…calling you." He panted.

"My battery died." I explained, cautious of the ever growing audience "What's wrong?"

"There's been an accident."

I gasped "What?"

"You're Grandma… she was in an accident." Shikamaru's eyes were sympathetic "Your Mom called me because she couldn't reach you. Your family's at the hospital awaiting results."

I covered my mouth, my face the picture of shock and horror. "No…" I whispered.

"Please." Shikamaru pleaded, grabbing my arm softly "I'll take you there."

"But I…" I glanced around the crowd of curious people "I mean…"

"She might not make it."

I nodded, my face determined. "Alright. Let me say goodbye to…" a hand rest on my shoulder. I turned it was Sasuke.

"What's going on?" He asked a little suspiciously, his eyes scanning my face. I was surprised to see a hint of sympathy in them. I didn't need him believing this too! Imagine how mad he'd be when I come in as Tohru!

"I-I" I stammered for real "I have to go."

I leaned up and unexpectedly kissed his cheek before racing off with Shikamaru. During the whole race to the car I wondered why I kissed him. Maybe I felt bad about lying to him. I didn't have time to ponder this. I had to change into Tohru before Neji arrived.

-

-

"Are you done in there?" Caroline hollered through the door.

I couldn't' believe this. I was in a mall restroom getting dressed. I knew that if someone watched the security cameras I'd be dead, which is why I had myself well covered when I entered the store. I know a giant sweatshirt isn't the best disguise, but no one gave me a second look, which was good.

I slipped the dress over my head and tugged it down, fixing the single sleeve and pulling my hair down, running my fingers through it. "Okay!" I stepped out.

Caroline attacked my face, applying extra lip gloss, eyeliner, mascara, and a tiny bit of blush. I changed shoes and applied bracelets, earrings, and a necklace. The whole transition took about ten minutes. After she was done she pulled back at arms length to inspect me.

After thoroughly checking she gave me an overenthusiastic thumbs up.

I sighed in relief. "Thank you so much Caroline, I can't even tell you how much I appreciate this."

"No problem." She hugged me "Anything for my number one model."

"No seriously," I interrupted "Anytime you need a model just give me a call. I'll even do it for free!"

She laughed lightly before leading me out the restroom. "Let's hurry, you're keeping prince charming waiting."

"Ugh he is so not my prince charming."

-

-

I won't lie, I was nervous.

Neji and I had agreed to meet in the parking lot of a cheap motel about two miles down from the hotel where the ball was being held. Sitting in the backseat of Caroline's spare car I twisted the hem of the dress. Where was he? We agreed to meet at 8:30.

Headlights illuminated my vehicle. There he was. I stepped out slowly as the limo pulled up. A sleepy looking family of five stood in the motel doorway gaping. I guess its not everyday you see celebrities and limos at a seedy motel like this. I gave them an amused smile before climbing in, not even waiting for anyone to open the door.

Neji was seated across from me dressed in a black designer suit with a dark blue tie. Blue must've been his favorite color. I returned his shy smile "Hey, glad you could make it."

"I never leave a lady hanging." He said politely.

"Ready to rock the ball?" I asked with extra playfulness in my voice. Now I could be myself, only a model. It felt good. I hated pretending to be something I'm not, and I am definitely not shy.

"I'm ready to make an appearance if that's what you're talking about." His voice was still vaguely distant and extremely polite.

I frowned. "Are you okay?"

He nodded slowly while rubbing his temples "Yes just fine, sorry I'm a little tired."

"Perfectly understandable." I gave my award winning smile "You are only human."

"Does the great Tohru ever get tired?"

I threw back my head and laughed "No of course not! That's what coffee is for!"

-

-

By the time we entered the hotel the party was definitely jumping. The D.J. played 'Just Dance' with the bass higher than usual. The flashes from the red carpet and cheers couldn't drown out the bass that I could feel from the soles of my recently changed shoes.

I smiled at Neji. A flash went off. Oh great, I can see it now. 'Hollywood Romance' or something dumb like that. I gave him a playful grimace before leading him into the hotel.

Anko practically tackled me as I came in the door. Her wiry arms nearly choked me to death. "Tohru! It's so good to see you! You look great. Lovely dress darling."

I raised an eyebrow at my overly affectionate manager. I laughed and ruffled her spiky ponytail. "Anko are you drunk?"

"No…I'm from Texas."

I shared a confused gaze with Neji. He shrugged slightly, his gray eyes confused. He has such gorgeous eyes… "Um okay…" I knew that she was straight from Tokyo "Whatever you say cowgirl."

Anko giggled, slapping my back painfully before twirling off, still managing to be foxy in her inebriated state.

Several acquaintances surged forward to make small talk with me. Neji was having a tough time having a polite conversation with Mr. Uchiha… MR. UCHIHA!

I turned sharply and was met with a pair of glowering black eyes. I felt my knees go weak in fear and shame. Oh crap.

"Sasuke." My voice was no more than a whisper, but I knew he could read my lips.

He shook his head curtly before stalking off, disappearing in the throngs of celebrities and wannabe's. Neji wrapped an arm around my waist as he laughed at something an older business man said. My eyes couldn't leave the path that Sasuke made when he left. I had hurt my friend and I knew I'd pay dearly for it.

Even though he did practically trick me into going, it gave me no right to lie to him like that. I didn't want to make Sasuke angry, even though we'd known each other for a short while I still considered him close to me, yet here I go hurting him like I did Temari. Thankfully Temari was forgiving but not everyone else knew me like she did.

It seems like all I did was burn bridges lately.

I wiped any forming tears from my eyes and forced myself to smile and enjoy myself. I met a pair of smoldering dark eyes and was filled with hope for one brief second. The hope disappeared as I recognized the older Uchiha.

Oh crap, he was headed straight toward me. This day couldn't get any worse if it tried.

-

-

End Chapter

**I did it! I updated Cliché. I'm so happy and hope you are too. If not you have every reason to hate my guts.**

**I just saw The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button today. It was freaking brilliant! The best movie of the year by far! YOU MUST WATCH BENJAMIN BUTTON! I FREAKING LOVE IT! It is so very good, I cried at the end, middle, and beginning. The characters are so well developed and likeable (excluding the main female) and the story is brilliant. BENJAMIN BUTTON IS THE BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!**

**I think I'm done ranting. Please review! Pretty please? For me?**


	13. Why Anko should never drink

Good news! I'm not dead!!! (yet). Honestly there is NO excuse for my tardiness. I apologize for being a schmuck to top all schmucks. I'm ashamed of myself for taking so long, and can only hope that some of you still remember this humble little fic and remember to review.

**I still love you guys!!!**

**Disclaimer: Me? Own Naruto? Hell yeah.**

**-**

**-**

I finally knew how a criminal felt on the day of his execution. Itachi's every step matched my doomed heartbeat. Thump. Thump. Thump. I gulped. The whole world stopped, well at least it seemed to stop. I could still hear the false chatter of celebrities reuniting, the clink of glasses, the forced titter of older women, but it all seemed muffled, muted under my intense fear. I didn't understand why I was so afraid. Maybe it was because I could feel everything crashing around me. My pretenses had finally hurt someone important to me.

I backtracked at that thought. Sasuke was important to me?

I remembered our day in the park, and what a strange but good friend he had been. Yes, he was very important and I was wrong to lie to him.

I need to make up to him. Somehow, someway.

"Hello Tohru, fancy seeing you again so soon."

_Oh crap. _I forgot about Itachi in the midst of my silent musings. There he stood before me, larger and sexier than life in a black tuxedo. The Uchiha family definitely had some good genes. How was it possible for him to be so gorgeous? My inner fan girl drowned in a puddle of her own drool.

"Hi!" I squeaked, two decibels too high. I tried again "I haven't seen you since the photo shoot. How have you been?" I sounded elegant, poised. I mentally congratulated myself on a job well done.

"I'm better now that you're here."

Did he really just say that? I pinched my right thigh through the dress as discreetly as possible. Nope. I was definitely NOT dreaming. Again I say: _holy crap._

I gave a throaty chuckle, trying to hide my inner panic and delight. "Really Itachi, you're such a flirt. Have you received any more modeling contracts?"

That was a dumb question. Of COURSE he did. He's Itachi Uchiha and drop dead gorgeous! I wanted to slap my own forehead but that would be questionable in such a posh environment. I settled for gritting my teeth a little instead. Gritting your teeth is acceptable, right?

Itachi kicked things up a notch with a sultry smile. "Yes, a few here and there, although I regret not being able to work with you again. Perhaps my agent can talk with your agent and we can arrange something."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I nearly fainted. Uh _**HELL YEAH! OF COURSE I WANNA WORK WITH YOU! I WORSHIP YOUR VERY IMAGE! PLEASE LET ME BEAR YOUR CHILDREN!!!**_ But what I really said was "That sounds lovely, I'll have to have a little talk with Anko."

Itachi smirked, as if he could hear my inner voice screaming for his attention. "I'll be looking forward to it. Have a _lovely_ evening." He nodded politely and then seemed to float off in a cloud of his own godliness.

I wanted to move with him to a desert island, where I would wear a little grass skirt and coconut bras and fan him 24/7. My daydream dispelled as I was brought back to reality. Where had all that came from anyway? Was it possible that I had a celebrity crush on Itachi? I thought it over. Yes, it was very possible. However, celebrity crushes like all other crushes were prone to fading, so I didn't worry about it anymore.

Besides, my date was approaching and let me tell you that Neji cleans up nicely. Very nicely. Smiling smugly at the jealous looking hussies I gracefully accepted his arm and descended into the crowd.

For that brief moment I felt like a goddess, and let me tell you it's a very nice feeling.

-

-

**Neji's POV**

Tohru is beautiful, of course. The dress she is wearing accentuates her figure without showing off too much. It's a color that looks rather lovely with her skin. Her hair is long and wavy, her eyes violet. She is a vision and she is currently on my arm. I could see rows of men watching her with desire-laden eyes, and I couldn't help but tighten my grip on her.

Those kind of men disgust me the most.

They didn't know Tohru, but then again neither did I. I knew she was fun loving, honest, and easy to get a long with. It was more than the lechers knew.

"Are you having fun?" I murmured as I steered us towards a table over flowing with delicious looking finger food. She removed her warmth from me to fill her plate with whatever looked chocolate. I hid a smile.

"I will be once I get something to eat." She said with a mischievous grin "I forgot lunch." She confessed.

"Well then by all means eat. If anyone talks about you, I will have my father fire them."

She frowned a little "What if they don't work for your father?"

"Everyone works for my father." I told her, spreading my arms to signify the vastness of our family fortune.

She still looked a little put-ff. "Huh." Was all she said before she popped a chocolate dipped strawberry in her mouth. I wondered if I had offended her. Women.

**End POV**

-

-

***Tenten's POV**

The arrogant little jackhole. 'everone works for my daddy, even your daddy works for my daddy' indeed!

***End POV**

***Itachi's POV**

Tohru looks annoyed. No, annoyed isn't the word for it, pissed off. That sorry little prick of a Hyuuga must have said something that set her off. She tried her best to hide her emotions but I am an expert at reading people's faces. Looks like trouble in paradise.

Earlier my little brother ran off, looking as though someone ran over his cat.

I had no idea this stupid banquet would turn out to be so much fun.

**End POV**

***Tenten's POV**

I was still irked with Neji, but not enough for it to ruin my evening. What DID ruin my evening was when Lorraine Stevens, an actress famous for her role in 'Don't forget Mikey' an 'intellectual movie', cornered me and began talking about her fame and career for two hours.

I ran out of chocolate halfway during her droning. Rats. I squinted to the side to see if there was some form of distraction that could reunite me with my beloved chocolate. Those strawberries were good.

"-it was all very stressful and tiring, but as a model I'm sure you can relate at some level." I blinked. Was she insinuating that her job was more difficult than mine? Would it be wrong if I stomped on her little stiletto clad foot?

I took a deep breath and counted to ten.

…

…

No luck, she hasn't disappeared yet. Find your happy place, Tenten.

-

-

My rescue came in the form of a buzzed Anko. She wobbled up to me, wrapped her bare arms tightly around my neck, and belched loudly. I flinched. This wasn't exactly what I was praying for, but oh well. You take what you get.

"Toooohhhrruuuu! This fruity drink is sho, sho, TASTY! I just wanna pour it down my pants!" she threw back her head and cackled. Her dull eyes then noticed Lorraine standing a safe distance away with a horrified look on her botoxed face. "Welly-well-well-well-well! If it isn't Lorraine 'i'm so goddamned smart' Steshens."

"Stevens." I corrected, my face turning tomato red.

"Have fun spreading your legs on camera?" She laughed some more at her pun. In the movie, Lorraine played an aging cheerleader who was excellent at doing splits. I flushed darker and could see Lorraine doing the same. "Haha, you whore! Nah, I love you, I love Tohru, I love this fruity…" she paused "Tooty fruity." She howled with laughter.

I glanced at the half spilled drink in her hand "Long Island Iced Tea." I said, my eyes widening. It was Anko's favorite drink in the world. "Anko, you really shouldn't be so drunk."

"Shut up and leave me al-alone!" she cried, even though SHE was the one hanging on to ME "I just want friends…" she mumbled against my neck "you don't love m-m-me." She sniffled.

"Of course I do." I silently prayed that the ground would swallow me up. Please?

"NO ONE LOVES MEEEEE!" By now more than a few people were watching us. Famous people. Ugh, I did not deserve this. I could see Itachi chuckling from behind his martini. I flipped him off. There were a few gasps. Oops, wrong move Tenten.

Crapoloa.

-

-

***Sasuke's POV**

I was halfway home when I realized something. I was running away. From Tenten of all people. No. I was better than that. She lied to me, not I to her. SHE should be running away. SHE should be apologizing!

Growling, I illegally cut across an intersection and floored the gas pedal back towards the hotel.

*End POV

-

-

**Tenten's POV**

This party officially bites. I just thought I'd say that. Anko, after thoroughly embarrassing me doubled over and spewed out all she ate and drank today. This sort of occurrence was common, so the wait staff got to it right away. I still couldn't help but feel ashamed of my manager's behavior. If I didn't know her as well as I did I would have fired her years ago.

I watched silently as two strong men carried her off towards the kitchen. "You're manager is a disgrace." Lorraine Stevens was saying. I was in too big of a daze to care about her. Past her big blonde head, and past the crowds of people, was Sasuke.

He had just entered the door and boy did he look pissed. His eyes blazed like a black fire. He scowled directly at me and that's when I knew I was in trouble. I swallowed loudly and looked for some form of escape. Let's see, I could go bug Itachi, who was watching me like I was the most fascinating show on television. Nope. Anko? Hell no. I could always find some old perv. I shuddered at the thought. Which left me with… I blinked as something large filled my vision. Sasuke.

_Uh oh._

_-_

_-_

"You lied to me." He seethed, getting straight to the point.

_Think of something smart Tenten!_ "Uh, no I didn't."

_Is that the best you got?_

Sasuke gave me a look which mirrored my current thoughts. "Yes you did!" he spat out, this time gaining the attention of a few nosy onlookers. The last thing I wanted was an audience.

"Come on Sasuke…" I attempted lightheartedness "You're acting like you're the only person I've ever lied to."

Somehow that comment sounded a lot better in my head than it did out loud. His eyes darkened "I thought we were friends."

His words felt like a dagger piercing my lying heart. "We ARE friends." I said desperately.

"Then why did you lie?"

"Because you would've told the press!"

"What?" the little jerk had the nerve to look baffled. And hot. Note to self: reign in inner fan girl.

"You were blackmailing me!" I was shrieking by now, and more than ten people were watching avidly. I sent them my harshest glare, enhanced by my purple contacts. They quickly turned away. I returned my attention to the jerk in front of me.

Sasuke's dark perfect eyebrows furrowed as his jaw clenched. He ran a nervous hand through the fringes guarding his eyes. "I would never blackmail you."

"Well you certainly made me believe you would!"

"It's called a bluff!"

"You are such a…" I fumed, searching for the right word "pig!"

My face was red from beneath the makeup and my eyes were brimming with tears. How dare he accuse me of being a bad friend? How dare he make me feel guilty! How dare he make me feel anything! I was mad enough to spit nails. I needed to get away from him to clear my head.

Sasuke's face mirrored my own in fury, although I'm sure it looked a lot better on him, even IF I was a supermodel. "For one moment there I actually cared." He quickly turned his face away. He was referring to when my 'grandma got in an accident.' I ducked my own head, ashamed. I didn't want to hurt him or anyone else anymore. I was tired of living a lie. The sound of laughter filled one corner of the room. I was sick of all this. For once I wanted to be just me, Tenten.

I wanted to tell Sasuke how sorry I was. I wanted to let him know that I would always be his friend, Tohru or not. I wanted to show him how much I cared, despite my pretenses.

Which is why, unthinkingly, I grabbed his face between my hands and drew his soft lips to mine.

-

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**Sasuke's POV**

Holy shit.

-

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**End Chapter**

Hey look, a cliffhanger! Okay maybe a cliffhanger wannabe. I hope you guys haven't forgotten me and my wonderful friend Tenten. I love writing all the girls from Naruto, but Tenten's my favorite. I think in a weird way we kind of relate.

**I apologize for the long wait. I'm such an awful person. How could I have abandoned my favorite reviewers in the whole wide world? (not to mention my only reviewers, which makes you even more special!). Thanks to anyone who still remembers me and my fic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Please Review!!!! (you guys must hate me)**


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